


A Stony Tail

by AvengersFan1



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: First Meetings, How Do I Tag, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Bad At Summaries, Kind of slow build, M/M, Magic, Mermen, Mermen AU, Plot Twists, mermaid au, small Steve in the beginning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-08-27 08:39:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 22,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16699114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvengersFan1/pseuds/AvengersFan1
Summary: Steve, a scrawny boy who is constantly bullied in the army, has every right to say that he has lost everyone he truly loved. His mother is dead. His best -- and only -- friend killed. He has just about given up. Then, something changes. Steve is forced to embrace change unlike any human before. As a merman, Steve is given the chance to start over on a fresh blank page for friends, family, and state of mind. He finds himself truly happy in this new environment.Then the past comes back to haunt him.Steve is not ready for it.





	1. The Change

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER:   
> All characters belong to Marvel.  
> Being a fanfiction, this work will be quoting the MCU and other Marvel sources since it is a "Parallel AU" -- or whatever you want to call it. Some character arcs are not original (also belong to Marvel).

A scrawny, young man ventured to the cove in tears. Nothing but laughter had followed him. It echoed in the blue, moonlit cave.

Steve was in the army. His dream had come true... Kind of. All the soldiers made fun of his size and lack of strength. In training, they'd trip him and rig the course to make it harder for Steve. Steve tolerated this for almost 2 years.

But now...

Now Steve had enough. He wished Bucky could come and comfort him. To tell him to get off his sorry ass and try again. Try harder. But Steve was well reminded by his nightmares that Bucky was gone. Gone in a storm overseas. ‘Taken by some squid monster and drowned,’ the survivors said. ‘Drowned or rescued and taken prisoner by pirates.’ Steve didn’t know what to believe.

The water's reflection danced on the dark grey rocks of the cave. Steve looked out to the opening of the cave. Below the rising full moon, it was all ocean. Across the Atlantic. That's where the enemy lines were. Steve had tried so hard to get across to the Army base across the ocean, but he was just not good enough. It was pure luck that Steve was accepted into the army in the first place. Steve looked at his tag.

'There's no way...' Steve thought to himself. He took his tags off him and threw them as far out in the ocean as he could. A tear slid down his cheek. 'There's no way I'm putting up with this anymore.'

"I can't..." Steve said to himself as more tears made their way down his cheeks. He dipped his feet in the water, buried his face in his hands and cried for who knows how long.

When Steve finally looked up from his hands the water looked brighter. Steve looked up. There was a hole in the top of the cave. The full moon was dead center in the hole. Steve looked at the water again. There, under his feet where his tags. Steve‘s brows furrowed.

"How...?" Steve dove into the water to retrieve the tags. As Steve grabbed his tags the water grew bright. Steve shut his eyes. He couldn't hold his breath anymore. Eyes still shut, he put on his tags and swam to the surface of the water. To swim felt completely different. When he resurfaced he gasped for breath and looked at his feet. Steve gave a yelp of surprise. He expected to see his 2 scrawny feet. But instead, he saw a decently sized blue tail.

Getting over the shock quickly, Steve dove under water. 'Ok so... If I really am a mer... a merman... I can breathe underwater... Right?' Steve slowly breathed in... Through his sides? He lifted his arm and saw gills on his sides.

He finally took notice of his broad upper, mainly human, self. His arms were muscular. He curiously poked at his biceps to make sure he wasn't dreaming. 'No, they're real…’ Steve confirmed to himself, bewildered.

Steve looked around. At the base of the pool, there was a tunnel. Curious, he clumsily made his way through the tunnel. At the end of the tunnel, there was a mirror-like wall and a big bolder with carving. Other than that, the tunnel was mainly empty. He first looked into the mirror out of nagging curiosity. He was extremely muscular and had gills on both sides of his rib cage. His human upper part was decorated in scattered individual blue scales. His tail was made of blue scales and gave a white reflection. He looked more closely and saw the tips had a striped pattern of red and white.

He turned around to see another fin on the back of his tail that trailed up his spine and ended at the base of his neck which also had the striped pattern of red and white. ‘My tail is like the American flag.’ Steve smiled at the thought and turned to the bolder with the carving. Clumsily, he swam toward it and read: "When the Moon is full and the night is warm, those who swim in the water under the moon will have the goodness of their soul reflected on them and they shall turn into a creature of the sea."

Steve looked at himself in the mirrored wall. Then he turned to the carved words again. He curiously reached out to touch the carving. He barely touched the word 'goodness' and the boulder moved out of the way revealing another part of the underwater cave.

There, in the middle of the new room was a rock. Embedded in it was a red, white, and blue shield with a white star in the middle. Around the room there were statues but Steve didn't pay much attention to them. Steve made his way to the shield. On the rock it was embedded in, there were more words carved.

But before Steve got a chance to read them, he heard a scream of another man. 'Oh no! I have to help him!' were Steve's immediate thoughts. He felt an incredible determination to help this man. He grabbed the shield and pulled. It glowed blue before it was separated from its place in the rock. When the rock and shield lost contact, the shield continued to glow and Steve began to glow as well. He looked down to see his tail change color.

The scales made a wave from the tip of his tail to his waist and seemed to flip over revealing another side. His tail was now a darker shade of blue. His fins were the same color as the base. There was a striped section around the thigh part of his tail alternating red and white. There was no reflection.

But the change didn’t stop there. An upper part of a suit the same shade of blue for his new tail formed around his upper body there was a white star in the center of his chest and 2 thick white strips wrapping around his shoulders aligned to the star. A mask formed around his face covering his blonde hair.

Steve had no time to explore his new suit. He quickly found a way out into the open ocean to find the source of the scream.

The scream came, not from a man, from another merman. His red and gold tail looked metallic. Like a metal suit. He had brown hair long enough to float in the water with an anchor beard and a mustache. His left hand was in a red and gold battered, metal gauntlet. There were parts of battered red and gold armor still clinging to the merman’s upper body and a light blue glow in the center of his chest.

The merman was entangled in a squid's tentacles. Except the tentacles were connected to another man's upper body. The squid man was holding the other red and gold gauntlet. They were far away but just far enough for Steve to hear them. Steve started to swim toward them clumsily.

"Very clever Anthony." The merman, the squid man called 'Anthony', made a desperate attempt to blast the tentacle that held him but the gauntlet failed him. "I never had a taste or this sort of thing," The squid man said admiring the gauntlet. Ignoring ‘Anthony’s’ futile attempts of escape. "But I must admit, I'm deeply enjoying it." He put the gauntlet on his right arm. "You finally outdid yourself, Anthony. You've made your father proud." The squid man tightened his grip on Anthony. Anthony gave an agonized scream. Steve sped up. He was almost there.

"You won't get away with this Obadiah!" Anthony yelled.

"How ironic Anthony! Trying to rid the sea of weapons, you gave it its best one. And now," Obadiah raised the gauntlet and aimed at Anthony. The palm of the metal hand started to glow blue, "I'm going to kill you with it."

"NO!" Steve got in between the 2 and raised the shield to block Obadiah's blast. The gauntlet fired and the shield withstood it. Not a scratch on it. Steve charged at Obadiah and slammed the shield against Obadiah's head. The squid's tentacles loosened. Anthony was able to untangle himself. "Get out of here!" Steve yelled at Anthony.

"I'll be back!" Anthony yelled back. His eyes focused on the shield. Then he swam away.

"You're going to pay for that merman," Obadiah said as he fired at Steve using the gauntlet. Steve dodged out of the way. The blast missing him by a centimeter. 'This is harder underwater,' Steve thought. Steve weaved through the forest of black tentacles and slammed the shield against Obadiah's back. Obadiah gave an angered roar as he turned around and fired at Steve who raised his shield again to defend himself.

"Guards! Seize Obadiah Stane!" Steve turned to see Anthony back with reinforcements and without the parts of armor from before and a red tail with a gold reflection. Steve saw the mermen guards charge from a distance. Obadiah took the chance to blast Steve in the back. The blast had a force strong enough to push Steve into arching his back. It was hot enough to penetrate the suit's material and then Steve’s skin. Steve let out a cry of pain and blacked out.


	2. The Merman

"Guards! Seize Obadiah Stane!" The mysterious lone merman with the shield turned to see Anthony back with reinforcements. Obadiah took the chance to blast the distracted masked merman in the back. He let out a cry of pain and began to sink into the deep waters below. His eyes were closed. He made no sign to show his consciousness. No struggle to swim up again.

"NO!" Anthony screamed as he charged ahead of his battalion. He grabbed the merman and raised his shield to protect them from another incoming blast from Obadiah. "Retrieve the gauntlet! Damage it if you must! Do not allow Obadiah to escape! Thor! Lead and make sure of it!"

"Yes, Prince Anthony!" Thor said and winked. He was one of Anthony's trusted friends. With a spear at hand, he continued to lead the charge as he and his silver scaled tail raced to the front. Loki, also Tony's friend, followed his brother with another spear and dark green tail.

"Stop calling me Anthony! It's Tony!" Tony called after him smiling. Tony's smile faded as he turned his attention to the masked merman he was barely supporting. Still holding the merman's shield, Tony raced to the Castle Barrier that lay in the reef ahead. A reef in the Atlantic? Yes. How? The royal family's inventions.

At first, it looked like there was nothing there. Just barren rocks and cliffs. Tony continued to swim to what seemed like right into a huge mountain. Then he passed through the entrance of the Barrier. A whole castle was revealed. Tony and the merman were showered in the light it produced. A reef full of colorful coral plants surrounded the base. The castle walls were smoothe in contrast to the great mound it stood on. It was as if the castle was carved out of the mountain that Tony saw outside of the Barrier. Tony looked back. He was surprised to see that the merman was not bleeding. Why?

Tony was greeted at the gates by a worried Natasha and Bruce and a smug looking Clint. Clint's and Bruce's jaw dropped, and Natasha's eyes widened as they caught sight of the shield Tony was holding.

"Is that-?!" Clint started as he and Bruce swam over to take the merman off Tony’s shoulder.

"The Patriot's Shield of Righteousness! I know!" Tony interrupted as he was relieved of the weight. Clint and Bruce each rapped one of the merman’s arm around their shoulders as Tony continued. "This merman saved me from Obadiah with-” Tony was interrupted by a blue glow of the shield. Its glow was blinding and Tony, Clint, Natasha, and Bruce. Bruce and Clint looked away, Natasha shielded her eyes with her arms, and Tony hid his face behind the shield he was still holding.

When the glow died down, they looked to see a blonde, muscular merman. His tail had changed to a lighter blue and his scales had a white reflection. The tips of his fins had the alternating striped pattern of red and white. The merman had a chain around his neck. It had a name on it:

_Rogers, Steven G._

Tony looked to the shield in his other hand except, there was no Shield. There was, instead, a ring in his fist that had the colors and pattern of the shield on it.

 _‘It’s a miniaturizing shield?’_ Tony thought to himself. He put on the ring for safekeeping. Tony snapped out of his thoughts and turned his attention to the merman.

“He can make the change...” Clint said in awe.

“We can’t tell anyone,” Natasha whispered frantically trying to shut Clint up. Bruce just put a finger to his lips with a ‘stop-talking-right-now’ face.

“Help me get his red, white, and blue tail to the infirmary!" Tony said. He and Natasha led as the 4 of them raced the mysterious unmasked merman to the infirmary.

\---

The infirmary was a large room. The lighting made the walls look like a beautiful mix of cyan blue and light teal shades. It was a perfect square room but fairly large. The ceiling was high. There were fairly sized arched windows at the top of the wall to the right. The floor had a giant gear carved into it that served as a pathway to the beds, that were positioned all around the gear pathway, were made of white giant clams that had a minor ruffle effect around the edges. They had mattresses made of soft material and were covered with dense but soft sheets.

Nurses swam around the room doing their jobs until the big double doors of the Infirmary slammed open. All turned to see the Prince and his friends holding an unconscious merman up. The nurses all bowed to Prince Tony.

"All rise! Now is not the time for formality! This merman is not to die for me!" The Prince said urgently. The nurses swarmed the merman and laid him on a bed. They turned him on his stomach to reveal the dark red open wound from the blast that Obadiah delivered on the merman's back. There was the answer to the question of blood. The merman’s skin was burned. The melted skin was blocking the blood of the wound, keeping the blood in. For now. Nurses gasped at the sight and swarmed around gathering the necessary remedies and tools for the treatment. They hooked the merman up to a heart monitor and the beeping began.

The infirmary doors slammed open again. The nurses all bowed. It was the King and Queen.

"What is all this ruckus!" King Howard questioned, his voice raised. The nurses all immediately swam to the edges of the room revealing the merman, Prince Tony, and his friends. "A foreign merman? In my castle?!" King Howard swam forward Prince Tony swam in between King Howard and the unconscious merman stopping the King in his tracks.

"This merman saved my life father!" Howard's expression had not changed. Rage radiated from the King's face. "Using this," Tony raised his hand with the ring shield. The King swam back in shock as the Queen moved forward by the King's side. No one but the King and Tony’s friends seemed to know what it was.

"Howard, let them heal this merman. You can banish him from the Stark Reef later. He did save our son's life. He saved Tony's life, Howard."

"No! You cannot banish him, father!" Tony said as he motioned to the nurses to go back to treating the merman. They did so.

"I WILL keep the Stark Reef safe, Anthony! Whether he saved you with that thing or not!"

"You banish him, you banish me!" The nurses, Tony's friends, and Queen Maria made gasps and surprised noises. "I am in debt to this merman! The last being who saved my life," Tony motioned to the blue glow in his chest, "died before I could repay him."

"We will discuss this later, _Anthony_."

"It's _Tony_."

"I named you _Anthony_."

"I prefer _Tony_."

The last 3 words were so cold, everyone in the room could have sworn that the water's temperature dropped by 10 degrees. King Howard turned and left. The rage had not left his face. Without anyone else noticing, a merman with a black tail, black trench coat, dark skin, and an eyepatch slipped into the room and seated himself in the back.

"Tony..." Queen Maria started.

"I'm sorry you all had to hear that. I'm sorry Mom. Father cannot do this to me. To my honor. If he banishes this merman, I go with him until I can repay him." Tony swam to the chair made of coral plants next to the merman's clam infirmary bed and took a seat. His face morphing from anger and disbelief to tiredness and worry. The silence in the room was almost deadly. The nurses whispered as they treated the merman.

Tony studied the merman's body. Admiring the structure of his muscles. Someone cleared their voice. All turned to see Thor, who had a large (but not deep) cut across his stomach, and Loki, who had a smaller but deeper cut on his arm. Loki was bleeding.

"Hello, Friend Tony. Obadiah Stane is in custody," Thor said as a nurse took Loki’s arm and wrapped it with a bandage. She then went back to her original duties.

"Is the merman alright?" Loki asked worriedly. The brothers swam to the merman's bedside. Loki made a face of confusion at the sight of the merman. Natasha grabbed and whispered a few words in his ear. Thor made no face knowing that his brother would explain later.

"Loki. Thor," Queen Maria said. "You were there. Tony hasn't said anything yet. What happened?"

"When we arrived, the merman was fighting bravely against Obadiah Stane," Thor declared. "Our battle cries distracted him and Obadiah struck the merman."

"My kind of move," Loki hung his head, ashamed. "A cowardly strike."

"You have moved passed that Loki. We have all forgiven you," Queen Maria said kindly. "I must go now. Your King, Howard needs to be persuaded."

"Thank you, Mom," Tony said not moving from his place. Queen Maria smiled at Tony then turned to leave. The nurses gasped and Tony rose from his seat as the heart monitor beeping sped up. The merman was flatlining. Queen Maria turned back with worry.

“Why are we losing him?!” A nurse cried out in shock as the beeping became so rapid, it almost sounded like one long beep.

“He isn’t bleeding out,” Another called out. Nurses communicate other reasons that were not the case.

A nurse with long strawberry blonde hair held up a bottle. Another nurse, with short brown hair, motioned to her to do it. They force fed the merman as the heart monitor held a long beep signaling, the merman’s heart stopping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Thanksgiving break so don't expect updates this often.
> 
> ;)


	3. Waking

Steve groaned in pain as he gained consciousness. There was a major pain in his lower right back. Steve slowly raised himself like doing a push-up and folded his lower body under him. He looked down expecting to see his 2 scrawny knees under him. Instead, he saw 1 blue scaled knee part of his tail.

"Ah!" Steve jumped up and floated back down. It took him a moment to realize he was in water.

"Hey, Are you alright?" Steve turned to see Anthony. _'Oh, this wasn't a dream.'_

"H-hi... Anthony?" Steve asked as a confirmation.

"Call me Tony. Is your name Steven?"

"I-I… What?" Steve stuttered, surprised Tony knew his name. “How did you..?”

"On your chain..?" Tony said, concerned.

"Right, s-sorry," Steve muttered as he tugged at his tags nervously. "Call me Steve."

"Why is your rescuer so nervous Prince Tony?" A blond merman with longer hair and a silver-scaled tail asked. He and the merman beside him, who had raven black hair and a dark green tail, where covered in small scratches and bruises.

"P-prince?!" Steve nearly squeaked. "I-I... Should I be bowing?"

"Are you alright?" A mermaid with a bigger pink tail with an orange reflection asked.

"Mom don't pester him!" Tony said taking notice of Steve's discomfort.

"Mom? So... Queen?" Steve asked the mermaid. She nodded.

"My name is Queen Maria. Ah… A small introduction, My son, Tony," She pointed to Tony. "The brothers Thor and Loki," She gestured to the blond merman with longer hair and a silver-scaled tail with a red reflection and the merman beside him, who had raven black hair and a dark green tail with a gold reflection. "Clint and Natasha. They are also siblings," she pointed to a fawn brown haired merman whose tail was purple with a black reflection and a mermaid with red short hair and a blood-red tail also with a black reflection. "And finally Bruce." She pointed to a lean merman with brown hair and a lighter green tail with a purple reflection. "Now my question, are you alright?" She pressed.

"I-I..." Steve stuttered. "I'm trying to..." _'Should I tell that I'm actually human?'_ "I saw humans..." Almost everyone gasped. The rest had worried looks on their faces. _'So that's a no...'_ "I..."

"My dear hasn't your pod told you that humans are dangerous?" Queen Maria asked with concern in her eyes.

"My pod? I..." Steve remembers the stories people told back home. Merpeople did indeed live in pods. He had to come up with a story. "I don't have a pod."

"You don't have a pod?!" Natasha burst out shocked.

"I... I don't know. All I remember is my father abandoned my mother before I was born and then she died a few years ago... I... I've been alone ever since..." Steve trailed off. It was the truth. Kind of.

"I am so sorry..." Queen Maria said softly. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Him..." Steve gestured at Tony. "He was leading some guards... Against… uh...?"

"Obadiah Stane?" Tony asked.

"Him. Yes..."

"Do you remember anything before that?" Queen Maria pressed on.

"I... I found a…” _‘If I had a mask on while I had the shield, maybe I shouldn’t tell them...’_ Steve shook his head skipping over the shield and started over. “... I heard a yell. So I sped out to help them. I saw you." Steve looked at Tony. "You were in the squid-man's tentacles and he was going to kill you."

"What did I tell you? He saved me!" Tony looked at the others. He made a motion with his hands that made Steve notice the ring he was wearing. It looked like his shield.

"That is unbelievable. Prince Tony is one of the best warriors in the reef," Thor said shocked.

"If you don't take my word you can ask Mr. Squid-man," Steve said pointedly. "Also... um... If you don't mind me asking... Where did you get that ring?"

"Oh! Wait. Sorry. It’s your ring. You um… dropped it when Obadiah hit you. Here," Tony said handing him the shield/ring back.

All of a sudden, Steve's face turned emotionless. His blue eyes disappeared so only the whites of his eyes were seen. The strawberry blonde and short haired brunette nurses noticed and swam around grabbing materials to write with and whispered to each other jotting things down.

"Steve?!" Tony reached out to Steve. Steve gasped when Tony’s hand made contact with his shoulder and his ocean blue eyes returned. Steve was breathing heavy. "Steve are you okay?" Steve’s eyes flickered between Tony and the shield/ring before settling on Tony.

"Am I going to be banished?" Steve looked into Tony's brown eyes. Tony could see the sadness and loneliness in Steve's eyes. Then Steve looked at everyone else. Queen Maria spoke first.

"My dear, how did you know-?"

"So I'm going to be banished?" Steve interrupted. "If I'm not welcome, then you could just tell me..." Steve fled. He tried to get out as fast as he could. _'I knew it was too good to be true.'_ Steve thought. _‘Was it the shield-ring that gave me that vision? The shield can do more than I understand. Better to just put it back. That vision the shield showed me was true! It actually happened!'_

Steve 'raced' through the corridors until trying to find a way out. He couldn't swim properly. _‘Why is it so hard to swim without legs?'_ Steve slowed to a stop to look around.

"Sir, you are wounded!" Steve turned to see a guard. _‘Ah. The blast from Obadiah must have left a mark.'_

"I'm actually fine. It's just a mark,” Steve lied. “Hey, do you know the way out of here?"

"Yes. Follow me." The guard showed him the way out. Steve was able to keep his swimming disability from the guard. They made it to the entrance. Steve thanked the guard and started to swim out into the ocean. _'I was unconscious when they brought me here. I don't know where I am...'_

Steve started clumsily swimming with no idea what to do.

"Steve!" He turned to see Tony swimming after him. Steve tried to swim faster but he couldn't swim properly. His tail kicked around aimlessly. It wasn't helping. Tony soon caught up. Steve slowed to a stop and faced Tony. "Steve... Why did you think you were going to be banished?"

"You know what this actually is," Steve said flashing the ring at Tony. "I saw you show the king. I had a vision -- probably from the shield-ring -- then your mother said ‘How did you know’," Steve turned away and started to swim again. Tony grabbed his hand.

"Did you get to the part where I said, 'If you banish him, you banish me'?" Steve turned.

"No... You said that?"

"My father wanted to banish you, yes. Merpeople can be… protective. But I'm in debt to you. You saved me. I... I need to repay you."

A moment of silence swept through.

"You said you don't have a pod?" Tony asked. "Join the Stark pod."

"I... I need to put this back,” Steve said fiddling with the ring.

"What? The Shield? Why?" Tony asked shocked.

"This shield... It's for merpeople to use only right?"

"I don't know. It's said that only the righteous can wield it."

"I'm not righteous." Steve countered immediately.

"Yes you are, you saved me. What are you-?"

"I lied, okay?” Steve snapped. “I didn't see humans. I am a human."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooooo? Whadayathink?


	4. The Feeling

"Wait. What?!" A voice came from behind Tony. Clint swam up to them. He was followed by Natasha, Bruce, Thor, and Loki.

"How can you be human if you have a tail?" Thor asked. Confusion written clearly on his face.

"That explains your anxiety and weird behavior back there," Bruce thought out loud.

"Guys, enough!" Tony snapped and turned to Steve. "You asked about if only merpeople can use the shield? That makes sense. You are a righteous mer- I mean man. Why do you want to put it back?"

"It can do more than I understand. I don't want to make a mistake."

"That's a ridiculous lie," Loki accused. "There is more to your reasoning than just being afraid to make a mistake." Steve sighed and tugged at his tags.

"There is but...." Steve trailed off and paused. He looked around at the merpeople around him. All of them had a hint of worry. "Your father," he turned to Tony. "He won't be happy with any of you if you defend me."

"My father is an idiot," Tony hissed with acid in his voice.

"Where did you find the Shield? How did you become a merman?" Natasha asked trying to change the topic.

"I could show you where if you show me where Tony and Obadiah were fighting. I need to get back there anyway. There were things I saw that I need to make sense of."

"Okay let's go!" Clint said excitedly.

"Follow me, friends! I shall lead!" Thor boomed as he sped off. Everyone followed except for Steve and Tony. They swam so fast that in less than a second all of them were a football field away.  _ ‘How do they swim so fast?!’ _ Steve thought. Tony looked at Steve.

"Hey... Are you alright?" Tony asked with worry in his eyes.

"Y-yeah I just... I'm new to this..." Steve gestured to his tail. "I..."

"Oh. You don't know how to swim," Tony smiled warmly. "Here let me help you." Tony offered his hand to Steve. Steve felt a warm feeling in his chest as he took Tony's hand. He wondered what that feeling was.

Tony pulled Steve while instructing him, correcting Steve's aimless kicking. Soon Steve and Tony were swimming side by side. Tony held Steve's hand to support Steve. After a while, they both caught up to the other 5.

"Oh my gosh. Where have you been lover boys?" Natasha teased. Steve's cheeks turned to a light shade of pink. Tony's cheeks were a darker pink.

"Tony was teaching me to swim..." Steve replied shyly.

"Wait. Waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait. Wait.” Clint paused for a moment taking a huge breath. “YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO SWIM???" He yelled.

"No..." Steve said so quietly that Tony barely heard him. His eyes dropped to his tail beneath him in embarrassment. Steve's cheeks flushed.

"Well, we're sorry for swimming out on you like that." Bruce apologized. The others put in sounds of agreement.

"It's fine. You guys didn't know," Steve smiled. "Come on! I know where I am now." Steve tried to swim on his own but he kept swerving to the side. Tony caught him and held his hand again for support. "Hehe... thanks," Steve said sheepishly.

"A little more practice and you'll be fine," Tony smiled. Steve felt a warm feeling in his chest again. _'What was that feeling?'_ Steve wondered “Also, you need to unfold your back fin.” Steve, forgetting he had a back-fin, tried to look back at his fin out of curiosity. But ended up twirling around like a dog chasing its tail. 

“Wait…” Steve frowned looking back up at the group. “How do you do that?”

Clint snorted and Natasha nudged him hard. After a few failed attempts, they noticed Steve’s burned melted looking skin was blocking his fin and gave up. Steve led the group -- with Tony's support -- to the cave where he found the shield. When they all entered the cave room, all of them gasped as they took in the beauty of the room.

The rock from which Steve pulled the shield from was in the center. The room was circular. The walls had smaller caves with statues placed in the center of the openings to the small caves. The statues were of about 6 mermen holding the shield in different positions. They were life-sized. There were art-collages carved on the walls of the caves behind the statues.

"Wow! Look! Those are all the previous patriots that wielded the shield!" Natasha said excitedly gesturing to the statues of mermen. "And the carvings in the caves behind the statues must be their stories before they found the shield! Mom told us about this place in stories. Remember Clint?"

Clint smiled. His eye sparkled with admiration as he pointed to the biggest statue.

"Look guys! It's Steve, Tony, and Obadiah!" There was a 7th bigger carving of Tony entangled in Obadiah's tentacles. Obadiah's hand with the gauntlet was up and aimed at Tony. Tony's arms were up as if trying to defend himself. Pieces of the armor still on his upper body. Steve was in between them defending Tony. 

Steve swam up with Tony still supporting him.

"That was the first time I ever used the shield… It wasn’t here the last time I was here." Steve said in awe.

"Is this your story?" Bruce asked from behind the statue. Steve and Tony swam around the statue. When Steve saw the carving collages on the walls of the cave, he gasped. It was his life's story from before the shield.

"Is it personal? Or can you walk us through it?" Tony asked. Steve swam forward letting go of Tony's hand. He touched a woman's face on the carved collage.

"Mom..."

"Wow, so you actually were a human..." Clint said in awe looking at the carvings. "Ow! What Natasha?"

"Really Clint?"

"No, it's fine," Steve said quietly.

"Friend Steve. The carvings are inaccurate of your looks," Thor pointed out playfully. "In the carvings, you look so scrawny and thin," Thor chuckled. Loki, Natasha, and Clint cracked smiles. Tony's face was full of sadness as he looked at Steve. He saw writing on the rock in the center. Out of curiosity, he swam to the rock.

"No... The pictures are accurate... All of them are... I suppose if I turn back into a human then I'll be like that again... But it's okay. I got the chance to experience this," Steve said as he looked at his muscular arms.

"Umm... No actually, the muscles are permanent… I think?" Tony said. Steve turned around. Tony wasn't in the small cave. Steve swam around the statue holding it for support and then out of the small cave. Tony was looking at the carved words on the rock in the center of the room. His brows furrowed.

"How do you know?" Steve asked as he let go of the statue to swim over to Tony. He swerved sharply to the right. Bruce and Natasha caught him by the shoulders and helped him to Tony. Tony read out loud.

"'Who should ever be worthy, pure, and righteous shall haveth this shield. Thy soul's reflection shall live on thee forever.' Soul's reflection?"

"'When the Moon is full and the night is warm, those who swim in the water under the moon will have the goodness of their soul reflected on them and they shall turn into a creature of the sea,'" Steve remembered. Loki thought out loud.

“You must have a very good soul to have morphed from your human 'stick form' to…” Tony motioned to Steve, “that.”

"So... What's your story, Steve? Can you tell us?" Natasha asked Tony's question again.

"Sure," Steve put on a small smile. "I told you part of it already. It's true, my father abandoned my mother before I was born." Everyone took a seat on the floor in the smaller cave so they could see the carved collage of Steve's life's story. "When I was growing up, I was bullied all the time for my size. I had only 1 friend. His name was Bucky,” Steve motioned to a man’s face in the carving. “He was like my brother. We did everything together. We both had the dream of being in the army. And so we did it. We joined the army. Not long after, my mother fell ill and died... But, in the army, Bucky excelled at many of the training routines and quickly became a Sergeant. You know what a Sargent is, right?" They all nodded.

"We have a similar army ranking down here," Tony said.

"Ok, anyways Bucky became a Sargent and got to go on a ship to a land far across the Atlantic Ocean for a rescue op but... There was a storm and..."

"Oh no," Natasha put her hands to her mouth immediately understanding.

"Yeah... Bucky died saving a man who fell overboard. The some of the survivors said that a huge squid, like the Kraken or something, grabbed Bucky as he was helping the man get back on the ship. Others say he was taken prisoner by pirates. No one really believes them."

"Do you?" Loki asked.

"I didn't know what to believe. But now, I might, because of Obadiah..."

A moment of silence passed.

"You know Steve, you're the only merman- well I mean... the only guy to be a human to wield the shield," Bruce pointed out trying to break the silence.

"I don't know if I'm even human anymore..." Steve said tracing the scales on his tail's lap. "Is it even possible to turn back into a human?"

"Why would you wish to become human again if you have no one up there?" Thor questioned. Loki gave Thor a small smack on the back of the head. "What? I'm just asking?"

"That was rude, brother," Loki said coldly.

"It's alright. I-"

"No, it's not alright!" Tony and Loki said together. Then Tony continued, "Steve how often did people talk to you like that on the surface?"

"I-I... All the time, I-"

"Just because of your size?!" Natasha burst out angrily.

"That's not right," Clint shook his head and with his arms crossed.

"Your nervousness back in the infirmary. Why? Why were you so afraid?" Bruce swam forward to face Steve. Bruce’s voice was gruff and strained and his upper body was turning green. Bruce’s tail also began to change. The green scales on his tail were turning purple and a green gamma symbol began to form on the lap-part of his tail. He seemed to be growing in size as well. 

Natasha quickly swam to him and whispered something in his ear. The green on Bruce’s upper body slowly retracted and the rage from Bruce’s face slowly subsided. Steve lowered his head, hiding his curiosity and shame.

"On land, if I spoke out of turn, I was beaten. If I did something wrong, I was beaten. If someone needed a punching bag, I was beaten. I was small. If I ran, they would never let me stop. But I want to become human, so I can visit my mother's grave and the memorial that was built for Bucky so I can honor them but... I want to stay a merman because you all are the first beings to treat me like an equal... Not some pet or punching bag..."

"Aww. Bring it in guys," Clint said opening his arms wide and swimming to Steve for a hug. Natasha rolled her eyes and smirked. Everyone surrounded Steve in a group hug. Steve felt that warm feeling in his chest again. 

Steve had a guess on what it was now. It was a feeling he had long forgotten. For the first time in a long time, he felt loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm probably gonna rename the previous chapters. I'll try to update every week. Sorry to keep you waiting!
> 
> What do you guys think? Is it good so far? I hope you're enjoying!


	5. The Prince's Story

The gang stayed for a little while afterward, talking and laughing.

“Would it be alright,” Steve said, "if you all kept this place under wraps? I'm not sure this place was meant to be discovered by anyone besides the person with the Shield... " Everyone promised to say nothing of the place.

"You know what we should also put 'under wraps'?" Tony said. "Your back. It needs the proper treatment if it's going to heal properly."

"I think it's fine Tony. But thanks for the offe- Ah!" Steve let out a gasp of pain as Tony poked at the spot on Steve's back which was now an ugly reddish-purplish color.

"I barely even touched it, Steve," Tony said as he crossed his arms and frowned. "Your getting treated whether you like it or not. As your future Prince, I command it." Tony said the last part playfully and smiled. The rest giggled, snorted, and snickered at Tony's comment. Steve smiled.

"Alright your highness," Steve said bowing to Tony, countering Tony’s playful manner. "I shall fulfill your wish." Everyone burst out laughing. Steve tried to swim out of the cave but once again, began to drift to different sides. Tony caught him before he swam into the cave wall.

"You know," Tony said. "When they put the bandage around your back, the fin on your back will have to be folded in. Normal merpeople can't swim well without them. While you're recovering, we can hide your inability to swim and have small swimming lesson sessions until you don't need the bandage anymore."

"Thanks. I'm gonna need those," Steve said as the 7 left the cave and headed back to the Stark Pod together.

As they made their way out of the cave Tony supported Steve while holding his arm and the other 5 took the lead. Steve held the Shield in his other hand. Out of curiosity, Steve looked at the blue glow in Tony's chest. He never wanted to say anything about it because he thought that it was personal, but the question was nagging him since he first got a close up of it in the infirmary.

"Hey, Tony?" Steve said quietly so the other 5 wouldn't hear.

"Yeah?" Tony answered.

"What's that in your chest?" Steve motioned to his own chest where the glow was on Tony's.

"Oh..." Tony said quieter.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to answer!" Steve said quickly.

"No, it's okay," Tony said and smiled wearily. "This is, what I call, an Arc Reactor. I invented it to keep pieces of shrapnel from piercing my heart. It keeps me alive."

"Oh no wait. Shrapnel? As in..? A missile?"

"Yeah... A missile. It was actually one of my father's creations. Human pirates known as the '10 rings' found out of the Stark pod’s existence here from Obadiah, who was my father's adviser at the time."

"Wait. Obadiah was the King's adviser?!"

"Yeah. Anyways, I thought I could talk to the humans because I, as naive as I was, thought that all humans had good in them. But I was wrong. They captured me, using one of my father's missiles, that I mainly designed, and told me that if I build them my greatest weapon, the Jerico, they would set me free. Of course, I knew they were lying. A human captive named Yinsen helped keep me alive with a c...crar? Carar? Yinsen said humans use them for transportation."

"A car?"

"Yeah, yeah a car battery. But that would only keep me alive for about a week. So Yinsen helped me make the first Arc Reactor. Of course, it was only a prototype but it did its job. Instead of building a weapon for the pirates, Yinsen and I created a suit for me powered by the Arc Reactor. You saw the parts of an improved version on me when you saved me. Anyways, after 3 months, Yinsen and I escaped and destroyed all the Stark weapons they had on the way out. But while Yinsen was putting me back in the water, he was shot. Later I found out Obadiah was selling the humans the weapons and I exposed him. He tried to kill me for revenge. That all happened in the last 4 months."

"Wow... I'm so sorry I made you say that..."

"It's fine. It was good to get it off my chest. But that's not the end of it..."

"Oh my gosh."

"I may have the smarts from my father but even geniuses run out ideas eventually. When I returned to the Stark Pod from the Humans, I announced to everyone that I would never create a weapon for the Stark Pod Industries again so we wouldn't run the risk of double-dealing ever again. Instead, I'll make shields, armor, energy sources, all that stuff but not weapons. That's why my father and I aren't on good terms… He used to be so calm too… I looked up to him.”

"Oh..."

"Also, I got really lucky that you didn't talk about the armor in the infirmary. The only ones who know who is under the mask of the suit and how I escaped are the other 5, Obadiah, and a few others. But Obadiah doesn't want the Stark Pod getting a hold of the suit and making more because that would make us too powerful for other creatures to stand against us. And trust me, he will try to get others to turn against us when he escapes."

"'When'?"

"Obadiah is smarter than you think. He has allies that will try to break him out."

"Guys," Natasha whispered. "We're here. So shut up about Tony's suit." Natasha motioned to Thor and Loki and they switched places with Tony and wrapped Steve's arms over their shoulders to support him and hide his swimming disability. Steve thanked them and they entered the palace led by Tony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Thank you so much for the Kudos, comments, and views! It's more than I thought I'd get. I know this is a shorter chapter. I promise I'll post something tomorrow or even later tonight. I'm on a roll today -- writing wise -- and I'm always excited to share my writing as soon as it's done!


	6. Her Idea

Tony lead them to the infirmary to get Steve to finally treat the wound on his back. Tony felt guilty for the mark on Steve back. It was his gauntlet from his suit that gave Steve the mark.

Tony stopped at the door. The nurses were speaking with each other in an urgent voice. Tony stopped his friends and motioned to them to be quiet. _‘Whenever the nurses speak like that, there is something good going on.’_ Tony remembered that he found out a lot of the new proclamations through the nurses' gossip and rants. He opened the door a little bit and peeked through.

"That potion is not to be messed with!" The strawberry blonde nurse said quietly but urgently. "It has the power to show the user the past!"

"But Pepper, how do you know-?" The short-haired brunette nurse asked but was interrupted by Pepper again.

"Did you not see how the merman asked about what happened a few moments before he was even conscious? Peggy, the remedy showed him the argument between King Howard and Prince Tony. It's the real deal!"

“Speaking Of King Howard,” another nurse spoke up, “He use to be so calm and nice… anyone know what happened?”

“I don’t think anyone really knows except maybe Queen Maria and Prince Tony,” said a voice that definitely wasn’t a nurse. Tony knew that voice well. It was Carol Danvers, the most loyal and overprotective Captain of the royal guards. Carol’s dark blue tail and bright red fins were now receiving a treatment of some sort. She brushed her blonde hair out of the way of her sharp blue eyes as she said, “But I don’t trust this new merman.” At this, Tony made a face of annoyance but quickly regained his composure. He glanced at Steve and the others who also could hear. Steve’s face showed a flash of guilt. “Something's not right about him.”

“Captain Danvers, please be careful,” Pepper said.

“I’m fine Pepper. It’s just a scratch.”

“Why don’t you trust the merman, Captain?” Peggy asked.

“Prince Tony is the finest warrior I have ever trained. Physically, he’s not much, but he is very resourceful. If you give him any scenario, he will use anything as an advantage. I’ve yet to find something to get him with. Then this happens. The prince all of a sudden needs saving and the merman happens to be around when Obadiah has the prince cornered.” Tony became really annoyed at this and knocks on the door before opening it.

"Hey, girls," Tony said innocently. All the nurses spun around and let out surprised gasps and squeaks. "Please don't bow!" Tony said quickly as they all began to bend down. "I hate the formalities of royalty..." Tony muttered.

“The formalities are necessary so all know who the superior is, Prince Tony,” Captain Danvers said bowing deeply.

"Sure, Carol,” Tony said smugly. Carol thanked the nurses and left, but not before giving Steve an ‘I’m watching you’ look. “Anyways, we need your help girls," Tony said motioning to his friends who were supporting Steve. "We found 'Mr. I-Don't-Want-To-Trouble-You' and cleared everything up. Can we get a treatment going for him?"

"Of course Prin- I-I mean Tony," Peggy said giving a small bow out of muscle memory. "Come on girls!" Peggy led the nurses to a bed and Tony's friends helped Steve to the clamshell bed. Tony grabbed Pepper out of the crowd. Steve was swarmed by nurses and Peggy had him turn on his stomach.

“So what did you give me that made me see the past?” Steve asked Peggy. _‘So it wasn’t the shield that gave me the vision?’_

“It’s a last resort remedy that should jumpstart the heart again. You flatlined. But it was a beta tester. We didn’t know it would work. Don’t worry,” Peggy chuckled as she took notice of Steve’s worry. “It’s not the first. It’s actually been fine-tuned, so that should be the only side effect.” Steve let out a sigh of relief. “Now we have to rate the wound. 1, being the smallest and 100, being the most serious.”

On the other side of the room, Tony spoke to Pepper.

"Does Steve know about the suit?" Pepper asked.

"Yeah. I was wearing parts of it when he saved me... Hey, Pep?” Tony lowered his voice. Pepper looked Tony in the eyes. “Can I just thank you? You’ve pulled _the group_ out of so many tight spots with treating injuries and all.”

“Yeah right. Where would _the group_ be without me?” Pepper said sarcastically.

“No, I’m serious.”

“Anything for my best friend.”

“Speaking of ‘anything for my best friend’, I asked Father for something a little special for you -- before the whole argument happened so it’s already written in stone until you die. Or get fired.” Tony said. Pepper frowned in confusion. Then, Tony gave a small respectful bow, “Doctor Virginia ‘Pepper’ Potts, Honorable Physician of the Royal Court.” Pepper gasped.

“Oh my gosh!” She sang quietly trying not to make a scene.“Tony, you’re the best!”

“Well, I’d better be. You did say I’m your best friend,” Tony said with a cocky grin. “Tell the others about your promotion a little later when I get you a copy of the document with the Royal family’s seal -- which is in my room -- so you have proof.” Tony winked. “Anyways, exciting news aside, we should probably check on Steve." Pepper nodded, not able to wipe the smile off her face. The 2 headed to Steve where the nurses were already wrapping the wound.

"Now, Steve," Peggy said. "You know that with the fin on your back folded in, you won't be able to swim properly."

"For how long will I have to have the bandage on?" Steve asked.

"That is one nasty mark you got. Just a poke and it hurts like hell right?" Steve nodded. "And it's an open wound. That would rate a 42 on the scale so about 3 weeks."

"A 42 on the scale?!" Clint whisper-yelled. The others made surprised noises. "You know how rare that rating is for merpeople?! It must really be bad, huh?"

"If you don't touch it, it'll be fine Clint," Steve chuckled sitting up. Some nurses in the back giggled. Steve tried to get up but entirely forgot about what Peggy said about his fin on his back and nearly knocked into Tony who caught him and laughed. "S-sorry!"

"Let's get you a room in the castle to stay in," Tony chuckled. Thor and Loki wrapped Steve's arms around their shoulders and the 7 of them started to make their way to the door. Pepper grabbed Tony before he left.

"Tony," She said urgently. "If Steve’s tail can make the cchange,ou should tell Steve about _the group_.” Then with a smile, she said, “He looks strong.” Pepper winked at Tony. His cheeks turned a light shade of pink.

"Thanks, Pep." Tony hugged her. "Honestly, I don’t know what we’d do without you.” Tony gave her a smile and turned to follow the other 6.

Peggy swam up to Pepper. “‘He looks strong’, huh? Then the Prince blushes? Are you implying something, Pepper?” She asks playfully.

“I ship it,” Pepper said simply, then turned back to do more work.

 

 

 

Tony caught up with the others who made their way to the part of the palace where their rooms were. They were waiting for Tony.

"Alright! Finally!" Tony said excitedly. "We're in a part of the palace that Father allowed me to install JARVIS in! You guys can go and finally rest. It's been a long day. I'll help Steve out." Everyone nodded. _'I really wanted to show JARVIS to Steve!'_ Tony thought to himself. Natasha, Bruce, and Clint all went into different rooms in the hall. Thor and Loki led Steve to a wall and Steve was able to support himself and did the same. "Hey JARVIS!"

"Hello, Sir." Steve jumped at the disembodied voice and, becoming unbalanced, fell forward. Tony swam over to him and wrapped Steve's arm around his shoulder. "How may I assist you?" Steve's cheeks turned a little pink.

"JARVIS? Can you give me a layout of this part of the castle?" A hologram map appeared in front of Tony. It showed the hall and around 16 rooms branching off of it. "Put up the marks of my friends and the unused rooms." 5 names and 3 marks appeared over 8 rooms close together. "Oh perfect! Steve pick a room."

"W-what?"

"You need a bedroom to stay in. Don't say no. I insist. Besides, you'll be close by the gang."

"Wait. What about you?"

"I don't sleep here. Security purposes."

"Ah. So what are the marks?" Steve asked.

"Ok, so the names are the ones in use. The other marks are the rooms you get to choose from. They aren't in use."

"Ok. Um... How about that one?" Steve pointed to the room next to Thor's and across from Clint.

"Alright. JARVIS, Mark this room with the name: Steve." Steve's name appeared above the room. "Thank you, JARVIS."

"My pleasure, sir." The projection disappeared.

"Alright. Let's get you settled, shall we?" As Tony led Steve into his room, Steve's face filled with worry. "What's up, Steve?"

"Your father doesn't seem to be fond of foreign merpeople... He um..." Tony sat Steve down on the bed.

"He was angry at me and took it out on you. I'll talk to him tomorrow or- today," Tony chuckled as he checked the clock on the wall. "5:30 a.m. already?" Tony muttered.

"Oh man, so what time did we actually meet?"

"Oh, around 10:00 p.m. yesterday."

"Wow..." Steve sighed.

"Yeah..." Tony gave a sigh too. "It's been a long day..."

"What time should I be waking up tomorrow- or well, today?”

"We all are sleeping in so sleep tight. G'night!" Tony winked and left Steve in his room.

"Bye..." Steve said quietly. He tucked himself under the sheets.

Steve couldn’t keep his mind off Tony until he fell asleep.

 

 

 

Steve woke with a start. If he was above water, he'd be soaked in cold sweat. He had a nightmare. The same nightmare for almost every night for 2 years since Bucky died. Every now and then, a new detail would show.

He would be a sailor on the ship with Bucky, then a storm would come. He'd look up to the sky and see a red symbol. A skull with 6 tentacles. Black tentacles would come out of the water and come towards him. He'd scream something and the tentacles would stop and turn to take Bucky. For the last 2 years, he never knew what he screamed in the dream. Last night, it was crystal clear; "Hail Hydra". He had to write it down.

He got out of bed and swam as fast as he could to the door. Swerving to the sides at times but he made it he barely pulled the door open and clumsily slipped through the door. Then something smacked him in the back right on the spot.

"Aahhsssss!" He tried to keep himself quiet for the others who hadn't woken up yet and his outburst came out as a hiss. He fell to his hands and tail and turned around just in time to see the doorknob click in its place.

 _‘Note to self: Doors are automatic. Therefore, harder to open without pushing the button that was conveniently placed to the right of the door.’_ Steve mentally slapped himself for his irrational hurry.

"Who's there!" Steve jumped at the gruff male voice.

"U-uh I'm here?" Steve answered still on the floor. A dark-skinned merman with a black tail, a black trenchcoat, and an eyepatch swam into Steve's view. The merman's face hardened as he recognized Steve.

"Oh. It's you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think about Captain Carol Danvers? 
> 
> "'I ship it,' Pepper said simply, then turned back to do more work." Omg, I died writing this.
> 
> See? I did as I promised. Boom. XD


	7. Clarity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So basically, for those of you who have been wondering about the magic in the story so far, this chapter is exactly what it was named; clarity. NOT EVERYTHING is explained in THIS chapter but I'm hoping that I haven't lost people because of unexplained details so PLEASE be patient and BARE WITH ME! Thanks.
> 
> P.S. - IF YOU ARE CONFUSED ON A PART OF THE STORY; Please let me know in the comments so that I can do my best to fix it and make it the least confusing I can.

"Oh, it's you." The merman said. Steve got up fast.

"Yeah... It's me..." Steve confirmed. “How do you know who I am?” The merman sighed.

"I was in the back of the infirmary when you had your small vision of the past. So I've heard that you witnessed and intervened in what happened between IronTail and Obadiah?" Steve gave a look of confusion, nervously tugging at his army tags.

“IronTail? I don’t know who that is. I thought the conflict was between Prince Tony and Obadiah.” The merman sighed. _‘There’s no point in hiding my identity with him,’_ Steve thought, then said quietly, “And how did you know I was the one who intervened? As far as I know, I had a mask on.”

"We can’t talk about that here. Come with me." He turned and swam down the hall. Steve tried following but once again, forgot about his back-fin being folded in and ended up nearly face planting into the floor, defending himself with his arms. The merman turned around and gave a small "oh" noticing Steve's bandage. "Alright take the ring and enlarge it.”

“What?”

“You do know how to use your shield. Right?”

“My apologies, sir, I only just found the shield yesterday. And how did you know my ring was actually a shield?”

“I’ll explain later,” The merman said. “Take your ring, and focus on making it bigger. Like when you fought Obadiah. Focus on its size.” Steve did as he was told. He focused. Right before their eyes, the ring enlarged and turned into a shield.

 _‘Why didn’t it glow blue? Why didn’t my tail change like last time? Will this merman provide the answers for me?’_ Steve had so many questions but held them back. He knew they would all be answered when the merman ‘explained later’.

“Now, hold the shield out in front of you and say 'Follow Director Fury'." Steve followed ‘Director Fury’s’ instructions.

"Follow Director Fury." The shield and Steve started glowing white. Steve's glow died down after a moment. It brought Steve upright forcefully and suddenly jerked him forward towards ‘Director Fury’. "Ah!" Steve exclaimed out of surprise. The ‘Director’ shushed him and continued down the hall the shield followed dragging Steve with it for a while. When ‘Director Fury’ finally stopped in front of a large set of double doors he turned to see the white glowing shield dragging Steve and cracked a smile. Steve smiled back sheepishly.

“Alright,” ‘Fury’ said as he opened the doors and swam into the room. Steve's shield followed hence Steve was dragged with it into the room. The room was a study filled with books and maps. “What’s your name?”

“Steve Rogers, sir.”

“I am Director Nick Fury. You may call me Director Fury. Do you have any questions before we proceed?”

“Many, sir.”

“Fire away.”

“You seem to know so much about the shield. About my encounter with Obadiah. How do you know all this?”

“IronTail told me.”

“Who is IronTail?”

“His identity is Prince Tony Stark. I thought you knew this.”

“Tony told me he had a suit. I saw him wearing it… well… pieces of it. He never said he had a secret identity.”

“But did he tell you that not many merpeople know that he is under the suit’s mask?”

“He did.”

“There you have it. Besides, I wouldn’t have told you IronTail’s identity without the Prince’s permission. He was, in fact, the one to recommend you.”

“Recommend me?”

“We’ll talk about that inside. Anything else you want to clear up?” Fury spoke as he started looking through books on the shelf behind him.

“Yes, sir. Back in the hall where we met, I enlarged the shield but why didn’t it glow blue? Why didn’t my tail change like last time?”

"The tail change, I can’t explain. I do know that the shield glows only 3 different colors for 3 different purposes. I believe Blue; is when you first claim the shield, White; when you give the shield a command or a summoning, and Red; no patriot has been able to discover what that does. In this case, you manipulate the shield's form. That is not one of the normal functions of the shield. In fact, only 1 of the 6 previous Patriots was able to do this. This function of the shield is a bonus — a courtesy of your righteousness."

"Aren't all 'Patriots' righteous, sir?"

"Yes. However, there are those who are purer — have more heart — hence, more righteous."

"Wow. Um… Thanks?"

"When did you fall asleep last night?" Fury asked with a grin on his face.

"What? I... 5:30 AM Tony said," Steve thought out loud, "So around 5:45, sir."

"Ah, that explains the bags under your eyes." Steve raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"What time is it now, sir?"

"7:30 am. Why did you wake after not even 2 hours of sleep?" Fury stuck his arm behind some books.

"Nightmare, Sir."

"Huh, You wouldn't happen to have this nightmare before would you?" Director Fury asked as he pulled a lever behind some books. The bookshelf opened. They both went in. Shield still glowing white. The bookshelf closed behind them. In the small metal elevator they were in, there was a railing and a second door.

"Yes, sir, almost every night for the last 2 years, sir." The Shield stopped glowing when Steve took hold of the railing for support.

"What happened 2 years ago?"

"I lost my mother, then a friend shortly after, sir," Steve answered shortly.

"You know, the mermen who have wielded the shield you hold have had recurring dreams. They were all warnings of enemies they would eventually have to face." Steve thought for a moment.

"Does the phrase, "Hail Hydra", mean anything to you, sir?" Fury’s eye widened.

"There... There is a pod of mutated merpeople, Hydra. They roam the 7 seas and wipe out pods. Keep the Princes and Princesses as slaves and test subjects.” A moment of silence passed as Director Fury punched in a code on the panel and verified his Identity. “We do have a problem with them.” The door opened. “Especially since there has been speculation that Obadiah is from the Hydra pod. And that’s why IronTail recommended you. We need your help. With your ability to make the tail change, skill with the shield in battle, and what looks like strength,” Fury gestured to Steve, “we have more of a chance. That is if you will accept.”

“With all due respect sir, I’m going to need more information than: ‘the prince you saved is actually a masked superhero’ and ‘we need your help’.” Fury smiled.

“I like you. Don’t worry. There’s more. IronTail isn’t the only superhero. There is a group. IronTail is a part of it. It’s called the Avengers Initiative. It’s a group of, so far, 6 merpeople with remarkable abilities and skills. They were brought together to, for the time being, protect the Stark Pod.”

“Tony said that his father, the King, doesn’t know about his suit hence, he doesn’t know Tony is IronTail. Does the king know about the group?”

“I was hoping IronTail could fill you in on that. Yes. The king does know. But he proclaimed them all as wanted vigilantes.”

“I… I’ll have to think about it… I’m… not on the best terms with the king. He doesn’t trust me. IronTail told me that the king was angry and took it out on me but-“ Director Fury interrupted Steve’s pointless babbling.

“You, Rogers, are the most disciplined young merman I have ever met.” Fury paused for a second. “Here,” He swam forward into the room and grabbed a small object. “This,” he said as he turned back, “is a panic button. I know you don’t need it for you. This is when you can’t make the change due to circumstances. If you are in front of other merpeople. Press the button six times, and the other 6 will come to your aid. Your identity is everything. Remember that. Click it once to signal to me that you’ve made up your mind about joining the Avengers Initiative. Alright?” He said holding the small clip-on button. Steve hesitated before taking the button and clipping it on his tags.

“Um… I’ve only made ‘the change’ once and I have no idea how I did it…”

“I can’t help you there. I can’t make the change, period. You would need to talk to IronTail.”

“Is it common to be able to make the change?”

“Not at all. You are actually the first Patriot to be able to make the change at all, as far as I know. There are only 6 others besides yourself who can make the change that we know of.”

“The group? The Avengers?”

“Yes. The Avengers…” Fury pondered on the name for a moment. “In fact, many pods believe that the change is a myth.”

“So there seem to be quite a bit of merpeople who can make the change for one pod, don’t you think?”

“Actually, only 2 of the 6--,” Fury paused for a moment and shook his head. “Now 7 merpeople that we know,” Fury corrected, “-- can make the change were actually born in the Stark pod. The rest are foreign.”

“Huh.” A mermaid with a dark brown tail and hair pulled up in a bun swam over to Fury.

“Agent Hill?” Fury addressed.

“Director, we had a blip on the radar.”

“What?! So soon?!”

“Duty calls?” Steve asked.

“Yes, it does.”

“I’ll escort myself out, sir.” Steve miniaturized the shield, put it on his finger, and turned to leave.

“Steve Rogers,” Fury called after him.

“Yes, sir?”

“Be careful,” Fury warned then he turned to Agent Hill and said, “What’s the location of the blip?” He and Agent Hill began to swim away and Steve turned to leave again.

“Approximately 35 miles from the prison block.” Agent Hill answered. “What if they try to break in-?” Steve heard no more of the conversation. ‘Break in?’ Steve thought to himself. He decided not to worry. Director Fury looked like someone who could handle it.

Steve made his way back through the door that closed and locked itself and then the bookshelf opened once more to let Steve out and closed behind Steve when he swam out. He left the study that hid the secret door. All this new information was so much. Steve decided to go back to his room to sleep a little more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HHHH I'm gonna die cuz of midterms. I may slow down a bit after this chapter cuz midterms are all of next week. But afterward... WINTER BREAK! IM SO READY FOR IT. 
> 
> Who's also ready for winter break?


	8. Adjustments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I know I said that I may be slowing down due to midterms, but I'm on a roll today! Thank you, people who are giving kudos and commenting and asking questions about some characters -- which has given me a bit of inspiration. You guys are what makes me so excited to update.

Over the next few days, Steve explored the castle. He wandered around the palace next to the wall for support. He found where the kitchen was and made friends with the chefs, the brothers Joe and Anthony Russo, who allowed him to stay and watch. They enjoyed each other's company. 

In the following few days, Tony was able to give him private swimming lessons at night. Steve assumed that Tony had prince responsibilities to attend to during the day. He asked Tony about the group once: “We should focus on getting you to swim for now. We’ll talk about that later,” Tony said quickly. Steve brushed it off as nothing.

He would hang out with Bruce, who would be in a lab, who was usually accompanied by Natasha and sometimes Clint. She would be watching and talking with Steve and Bruce while Bruce worked. Clint would try to annoy Bruce for the heck of it. Steve and Bruce always found Clint more amusing than annoying though. Natasha would elbow him playfully. 

Steve found Thor and Loki training with each other. They wouldn’t allow him to join because of his wound. But they promised he could when he recovered. Steve understood.

After about a week at the castle, Steve could finally swim with the grace of a real merperson. Without the back fin, however, it was hard to make turns. 

Made sense. 

A day ago, or so, Steve knocked into Captain Danvers. On accident.

“Watch out!”

“Uah!” She let out as he collided with her into a nearby wall. “Hey! Watch where you’re-!” She started, recovering from the collision quickly, but when she noticed the bandage around his torso, the anger in her voice wavered. “...going...” Steve gave a hiss of pain through his clenched teeth. Unlike Carol, his recovery was way slower. He didn’t finish recovering when he began to speak.

“I am so, so sorry,” he said, guiltily. Though her voice had faltered for a brief moment, she regained her rock-hard composure. 

“It better not happen again,” she said coldly. She then swam off.

Now, Steve was exploring the castle yet again after a well-cooked breakfast that was provided by the Russo brother Chefs. He turned down another unfamiliar hall and found a way outside which led to a gateway to a garden where he saw Queen Maria. He greeted her and apologized for his outburst in the infirmary.

"Oh, it's fine!" Queen Maria responded brightly. "I'm so sorry for the misunderstanding."

"It's alright, really. I should have listened before swimming off like that."

"The important thing is that you are safe."

"Is there a part of the Stark pod that is more…?"

"Local?" Queen Maria finished. Steve nodded.

"To explore," He explained.

"Yes, the palace is so big, it would be easier to have a guard escort you rather making you find your way on your own," Queen Maria smiled. She called for a guard to come forward and asked him to take Steve to the city. The guard nodded. Steve thanked Queen Maria and swam after the guard. He did his best to keep up without his back fin.

"When I was outside of the reef," Steve said to the guard. "I didn't see a city anywhere around."

"The city is under the palace, sir." The guard responded. They made their way into a lower part of the palace where there was a tunnel. "It keeps the local people safe." There was a moment of silence.

"Alright," the guard said as they reached the end of the tunnel and stopped at the gates. "Put this on." The guard handed him a ring with a gear on top. "This is a key. When you want to come back into the castle, fit it through the keyhole and turn it to the right."

"Thank you," Steve said as he put the ring on. The guard nodded and turned to pull the lever to open the gates.

"Enjoy yourself, sir." The gate opened and Steve swam forward out of the tunnel. The gate closed behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little short but as I'm writing, this is a good place to stop. Thanks again for the comments and kudos!
> 
> P.S.: For those of you who are wondering if there will be any action; YES there will be FOR SURE. In maybe 2 or 3 chapters? Idk.


	9. The Barrier

As the gate closed behind Steve, he turned to see a dead end. Steve swam forward in confusion. Then he looked down. There was no floor. Steve's eyes widened at the view.

It was a large downward cave with large ledges sticking out from the walls of the cave. On the ledges where different buildings and on the walls of the cave there was colorful coral plants. Merpeople were everywhere swimming around minding their business. Steve was glad he wasn't carrying around the shield. It would have attracted attention. 

He swam down to the first ledge. Shops and houses were sprinkled all over the place. Steve looked around trying to keep his face from showing the awe he was in. It looked as if the entire city was carved out of one giant rock. The houses looked like mounds of rock or big igloos. Coral plants grew everywhere making the whole city look colorful. Lights were provided by bright blue glowing orbs stationed like the street lamps on the surface. 

As he made his way down to the next ledge a teenaged boy knocked into his back.

"Ahh!" Steve cried out in pain. It was as if he had caught fire in one spot. The pain was still on the extreme side. 

"Oh man! I'm so sorry!" The boy apologized frantically.

"I-it's alright kid," Steve said still recovering from the push that felt like a hundred whips.

"Evans! You need to watch where your swimming!" A new voice called.

"I got it, RDJ..." ‘Evans’ said in shame as the boy Evans called ‘RDJ’ swam up to them. "I'm sorry sir..." Steve smiled at the boys.

"It's fine. I'm not dead. So where are you going in such a hurry?"

"Tech class. Professor Tony is going to show us The Barrier today!" ‘Evans’ answered excitedly.

"Want to come with us?" RDJ asked, "Professor Tony wouldn't mind. We're allowed to bring guests. This may be a once in a lifetime opportunity! Besides, its the last day of school. Teachers always let loose on the last day of school."

"Sure," Steve answered since he had nothing else to do. As they swam Steve asked, "so what do I call you two?"

"My name is Chris Evans but you can call me Chris." They took a left. Steve stumbled but the boys caught him and pulled him on track again.

"Thanks," Steve said. They headed down an empty tunnel.

"Without the back fin, it's understandable. I'm Robert Downey Jr. RDJ works. What's your name?"

"Steve Rogers. But Steve is fine." Steve said.

"So how did you get hurt? Where did it land on the wound scale?" RDJ asked.

"Well they told me it landed as a 42 on the scale but-" Steve started. 

"42! A 42 on the scale?! Oh man, I'm so sorry! I hit you right on the spot didn't I?!" Chris started to apologize again.

"Yeah it's fine but," Steve started. 

“And here I thought that you were overreacting when Chris knocked into you,” RDJ smirked.

"Haha. I can take a push if you don’t touch me on the spot…” Steve muttered. Teenagers, merpeople or human, could be so mean. Steve decided to switch the subject. “So who is this Professor Tony? Does he have a last name?"

"He never shared it. He asked us to call him just Tony, but it's respectful to call him Professor," RDJ said.

"Huh." They turned out of the tunnel to see a group of merpeople of around 20 teenagers and a few more older adult merpeople.

"Is everyone from my class here?" A familiar voice asked. "Everyone's guests here?" Steve turned to see Prince Tony Stark.

"Tony?!"

"Steve?! H-hey! It's good to see you!” Tony looked nervous. “What are you doing here?"

"You're the professor?"

"We should talk in private." They swam to the side out of the group's earshot. RDJ and Chris joined the group of teens and their guests. "Ok listen. No one here knows I'm the prince, and no one in the castle knows I'm a professor — except the gang — so keep it down about that okay?"

“Got it. We need to talk later about the group that you recommend me for.”

“Right, for sure...” Tony said lightly. _‘Why is Tony so uncomfortable about this topic even when we're in private,’_ Steve wondered.

"Also, just out for curiosity, why are you a teacher?" Steve asked.

"I love it. It's my getaway," Tony winked. He turned to everyone else and said, "Alright! This is the last field trip of the year and the first, and possibly last, time we are going to the barrier ever. I need you all to make this easy for me and stick together. If you brought a guest? Stay with them. Now, without further ado: To the barrier!"

Tony lead the class through a maze of tunnels. Every so often, he would stop the group to check for anyone missing. They made it to the end of the tunnel and saw a gate across a room guarded by 2 guards. He told the group to stay at the entrance of the tunnel and made his way to the gates and quickly motioned to the guards frantically keeping them quiet and gave them a password.

The guards cleared from the gates and Tony swam back to the group, motioning to come forward then putting a finger to his lips to keep the group quiet. As he led the group in through the gates, he spoke in a low voice loud enough for the group to hear.

"The security here is very high. If you wander off, you will be arrested. No questions asked. Keep your voices low, and don't touch anything." Tony went on to talk about the machines that operated the barrier and how the barrier bent light to make it look as if the Stark Pod Reef wasn't there.

As they passed by an odd-looking wall, Steve noticed a crack of light. He swam to it in curiosity and touched the crack. To his surprise, it wasn’t a crack in the walls, but a small opening to curtains that camouflaged perfectly with the rocks the wall was made of. He opened the curtains a little and saw the first window he has seen in the barrier tour. He looked out and saw a guarded cave entrance around no more than a football field away. 

He noticed an explosion somewhere behind the cave. Dust from the blown rock made the clear waters murky.

The guards made an attempt to swim toward the explosion but a merman with a metallic grey tail and black fins, a metal arm, black uniform, and a full face-mask shot them with what seemed to be a gun. The guards floated to the ground, red blood tarnishing the clear blue water, showing no sign of life. Steve was snapped out of his horror by RDJ.

"Hey, Steve we need to stick with... the... group..." RDJ noticed the curtains and opened them just enough to see the dead guards and the unsettled dust out the window. Chris swam toward them.

"Guys, what's the hold-up? The group is leaving." Then he too noticed and opened the curtains a little more to look out and see the unfortunate sight. "That's not good."

"That's the prison block," RDJ said worriedly.

"And probably where they are keeping Obadiah Stane," Steve growled. "I have to get Tony to get the group out of he-" There was another explosion that caused the whole room to shake. Yelps of surprise came from the group somewhere ahead. The ceiling began to crack. "RDJ, Chris, stay close," Steve said. Panicked voices from the group let out screams of terror.

"THE CEILING! LOOK UP!"

"IT'S GOING TO COLLAPSE!"

"Tony! We need to get them out of here!" Steve yelled over the rumbling as he shielded RDJ and Chris with his arms. “Lead us out!" Steve unwrapped his bandage around his torso and unfolded his back fin. Steve’s backfin felt cool as it was enveloped in the water for the first time in a week. Tony yelled out to stick together and began to lead the group through the maze of tunnels once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Midterms are this coming week. Why do I procrastinate so much? 
> 
> Also, what do you think about the characters that Steve met? ;)


	10. Unsafe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooof. Hi. I'm not dead. I survived my midterms. Still dying inside though. 
> 
> Without further ado, here's the next chapter!

Tony led the group through the maze of tunnels until they came to a stop.   
  
"Tony, what's wrong?!" Steve shouted from the back.   
  
"The tunnels are caved in! We need to find another way out!"   
  
Steve thought quickly but his thoughts are interrupted by a scream of pain and yelps of panic.   
  
"SOMEBODY HELP!” 

“Lieutenant, sir! I’ll a way to get you out! I promise!"   
  
Steve turned to see a trio guards. One of them had a tail stuck under some rubble. He had a light brown ~~\--~~ almost orange ~~\--~~ mustache that grew down to his chin. Instead of a guard’s helmet, the guard wore an old-looking bowler hat. The other two were pulling as hard as they could by one of the bowler-hat-guard’s arms each.   
  
"Stop! STOP! My tail!” The bowler-hat-guard cried out in pain. “Leave me here save yourselves! All the guards have evacuated the workers. It’s just you 2, and those merpeople over there, Help them!" The bowler-hat-guard -- who was called ‘Lieutenant’ -- under the rubble said. The guards shook their heads, unable to speak. Conflicted with the choice given to them. 

It seems that the lieutenant and 2 guards knew each other better than as colleagues. When the 2 guards still didn’t move and the lieutenant spoke again in hopes of convincing them to go. “Jones, Morita,” He pleaded, looking at each of them as he said their names. The guards still didn’t move. He then raised his voice. “Privates, one life can’t stand in the way of so many others!”

“But it should,” Steve said as he swam to the guards. “Help me out,” he told ‘Jones’ and ‘Morita’. They placed their hands under the rock and lifted with all their strength. The rock slowly lifted. 

"Swim out! Swim out!" ‘Jones’ said with a strained voice. The lieutenant swam out from under the rock with the help of the guard ‘Morita’. Steve and ‘Jones’ put the rubble down.

“We don’t trade lives, Lieutenant,” Steve said a little breathless.

The lieutenant opened his mouth to thank him but was interrupted by a huge crack from behind Steve. Steve turned to see that the ceiling above Tony was cracking. RDJ and Chris noticed and immediately began screaming.   
  
"Professor! Above you!"   
  
"Professor Tony!"   
  
Rubble began to fall as Tony looked up wide-eyed. Steve snapped around fast using his back-fin and swam at Tony and pushed him out of the way.

Rubble fell in between them and the group, separating them. Steve smiled comfortingly as Tony looked up at him with fear and confusion in his eyes. Steve heard Chris and RDJ shouting for him and Tony.

“Steve!? Professor?!” RDJ and Chris shouted.

“Oh my gosh! They were crushed!” A girl panicked.

“No! Don’t panic!” Tony shouted.

“Get back Tony. I’m going to try to lift this.” The group heard Steve say. Then they heard a strained grunt. The rubble began to shift. “I don’t think I can do this-“

“Steve wait! Around here. Look.”

“Please don’t tell me that was there before.”

“No you lifted the rocks and the rubble moved.” Tony gasped as if realizing something. “Review opportunity! Back into hardware mode! What is the proper term for what I just told Mr. Rogers?”

“Leverage!” The students chanted.

“Alright,” They heard Steve chuckle. “Go through here. Be careful.” From under the rocks, the group saw a Tony slip out then a Steve. "Alright. Back on the other side it’s caved in. Everyone follow me! If we stay, this place is going to collapse on us all!" Steve said as he swam the other way, back to the window that he saw the prison block in.   
  
“Steve there are no exits down there!” Tony shouted.

“Yes, there are! You just not looking in the right places! Hurry!” Everyone followed Steve back to the machines running The Barrier. 

As the merpeople continued down the room Steve stopped them and turned to a plain looking wall. He ran his hands along the rock wall.

“What are you-?” The lieutenant began to ask but Chris interrupted with his realization.

“Oh! That’s what you were on about!” Then he joined Steve in search of the camouflage curtains. RDJ’s realization was quieter and he ventured a little further down the tunnel.

“I found it!” RDJ said after a moment of all 3 of them looking crazy. Steve swam over to him as RDJ opened the curtains to reveal the window. 

It seemed a whole battle was fought out there. The water was murkier and there were more dead guards floating around. Other than that, there seemed to be no hostiles in sight. The merpeople gasped and whispered at the sight. 

“We’ll have to be extremely careful if we choose to venture out there,” Steve said.

“What?” The lieutenant gasped. “Are you crazy? You want us all in the battle zone?! I mean, us guards would be alright. We are trained. But what about this whole group of civilians?!”

“This is the only way out. But no. I wasn’t planning to take the group out there.” Steve took the button on his chain and gave it 6 clicks. “Not without backup.” Steve paused. No one seemed to notice what he did.  “While we wait, we keep civilians out of sight. We still don’t know what’s out there. The guards and I will keep a lookout. Tony keep the group together and quiet. The rest of you, make this easy for us.”

“You ever thought about joining the Stark Pod army?” The lieutenant asked. “You would make a great **_Captain_** of the Royal Guards.” 

“Would I now?” Steve said more to himself while tugging at his tags.  _ ‘That would have never happened when I was a human...’ _

“Why what’s wrong?”

“I was thinking about the merman who started all this,” Steve lied. “There’s a feeling I can’t shake.”

“How did he look?”

“He had a mask on. But if you could identify him by any unique physical characteristic, I’d ask you about the metal arm.”

“Metal arm?!” A voice from the back squeaked. Steve turned. It was the girl who panicked earlier. “Was it the left arm? Did the arm have a red star on its shoulder?”

“Yeah, um…”

“Scarlett Johansson,” she said then lowered her voice. “If that really was him we’re all in deep trouble.”

“You know who it is?” Private Jones asked with a raised eyebrow. Private Morita swam forward to listen in.

“Most of the Stark pod doesn’t know who he is. The ones that do, think he’s a myth. But he’s real. The Avengers know too. The Black Widow saved me from him a year ago.”

“The Avengers?” The lieutenant laughed “That group of vigilantes?”

“Are you talking about what happened a year ago?” RDJ asked as he and Chris swam over.

“The Winter Soldier?” Chris asked.

“The Winter Soldier?” The lieutenant laughed. The 2 Privates tried to hold their laughter but failed miserably.

“ _ The _ Winter Soldier,” RDJ frowned at the Captain and guard, “is very real. He nearly killed Scarlett.”

“Rumor has it, the Winter Soldier was a prince captured by Hydra,” Chris said. 

“Thanks for the memo guys,” Steve said. “I’ll keep it in mind. Go back and make sure Professor Tony knows where you are.” With that, RDJ, Chris, and Scarlett turned and left, leaving the privates, the lieutenant, and Steve alone.

“You’re actually believing the kids?” The lieutenant said surprised.

“I saw the merman myself. If I have a name for him and a possible backstory, then I have something to work with,” Steve said seriously. 

“So, what was this backup you were talking about and why are they taking so long?” Private Morita asked. As if on cue, a merman with a black tail with a purple arrow symbol on his lap, knocked on the glass window. He had a quiver full of arrows and a bow. He had a sleeveless black uniform top and a mask. He motioned to them to move away. So Steve and the guards moved back and the merman grabbed an arrow from his quiver and stuck it in the window, then swam away. The arrow then blew up, the glass gone with it, and the merman returned.

“Hawkeye,” The lieutenant growled. 

“Stark pod lieutenant with the obnoxious mustache,” Hawkeye mocked. “We don’t have time to go through the whole ‘I will arrest you, vigilante!’ routine. So let’s get a move on. What's the deal here?”

“There is a group of civilians here,” Steve answered as he swam between the two. “ The exits are all caved in and the guards were afraid to take them out there.”

“How many?” Hawkeye asked.

“Around 25. Maybe more.”

“Can I see them?” Steve led Hawkeye to the back of the room.

“Everyone I need you all to come out! Help has arrived,” Steve called. The merpeople came from random places. Hawkeye looked around.

“What’s up with going out there I don’t understand?” Hawkeye asked the guards. “Did you see any hostiles?”

“No but we’ve had speculation of a _ Winter Soldier _ ,” the lieutenant mocked the name. Hawkeye’s eyes seemed to widen for a moment then he put his fingers to his ear.

“This is Hawkeye, reporting the Barrier signal.” Hawkeye pauses before continuing. “We have a group of around 25 civilians and 3 guards stuck in the mechanics room. There have been reports of the Winter Soldier.” He paused again. Then took his finger from his ear and turned to Steve. “Was it a sighting?”

“I saw him,” Steve confirmed. Hawkeye put his finger to his ear again before confirming.

“There was a sighting.” Pause. “Roger that.” Pause. “I'll make it. Don’t worry, Widow.” Pause. “Be ready. Hawkeye out.” He took his hand away from his comms and said, “Okay children!” He said in a joking manner. “Gather ‘round, gather ‘round!”

The group came and Tony swam over next to Steve. “Alright. Here’s the deal. We are going to go out through the window-“ merpeople gasped, made panicked noises and whimpers. “Hey, Hey! Relax! I’m not the only one to come. We have checkpoints where the backup will join us. But I need you all to stay as quiet as possible. Got it?” Merpeople nodded their heads and murmured small “got it”s. “Guards in the back for strays. Stay together. Let’s go.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... This chapter is short. Don't fret. I will update later today to make up for that. I started writing the next chapter and I'm really excited to share it with you guys.
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and comments!


	11. The Soldier

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as I promised: a chapter posted later today. 
> 
> Enjoy!

As they all trailed out of the broken window and into the murky waters, merpeople made small sounds of horror as they swam through the battlefield that was currently littered with the floating lifeless bodies of guardsmen. Tony looked away. Steve put a hand on his shoulder. Tony looked up at Steve and gave him a small smile. His eyes didn’t reflect the smile. They looked full of loss and grief. Tony must have known some of these guards. Steve gave Tony’s shoulder a squeeze for comfort. The group stopped. Steve looked ahead.

He heard Hawkeye yell, “EVERYONE, INTO THE LONG KELP FOREST NOW! TAKE COVER! GO!” Everyone swam as if their lives depended on it but Steve stayed long enough to see that up ahead, a masked mermaid with a black tail and a blood red hourglass design on her lap with a black uniform top and short red hair was fighting none other than the Winter Soldier.

She was loosing. The Winter Soldier had her in a grip. He was choking her.

“Hawkeye you need to help her!” Steve said as he swam to Hawkeye. Tony followed.

“I… c-can’t,” Hawkeye managed. His voice showed he desperately wanted to. “I have orders to keep you all safe. I shoot, I draw attention to us. I can’t leave you unguarded. I’m c- I’m compromised,” He said with pain in his voice.

“So am I…” Tony murmured.

“Well I’m not,” Steve said frustrated. He couldn’t leave the masked mermaid to die. He swam fast toward the Winter Soldier and the mermaid.

“Steve, no!” Tony yelled after him and tried to follow but Hawkeye stopped him.

“Tony, if he is joining the team, he needs to prove that he can fend for himself. Tail Change or no. Let see what he can do,” He murmured. So they watched as Steve swam at the Winter Soldier.

Steve tackled the Winter Soldier and caught the Soldier by surprise, causing him to loosen his grip on the mermaid who wrestled her way out of the Soldier’s arms and was gasping for breath.

_‘Alright. Time to see if I can fight like Bucky taught me… 2 years ago... with a tail...’ Steve thought. ‘I could try a move I saw Thor do on Loki… without experience...’_ The mermaid caught her breath.

“Thank you for the help I can take him,” she said, voice wavering. She looked overwhelmed and was, at the moment, capable of doing the exact opposite of what she said.

“Yeah sure. You had him on the ropes,” Steve said sarcastically as the Winter Soldier drew a knife silently from his black uniform.

“Can you fight?” She asked.

“Let’s see,” Steve said. The mermaid opened her mouth to protest, but the Winter Soldier swam at Steve, attacking him. Steve avoided the knife. The Winter Soldier swung the knife at Steve again and Steve blocked it. He tried to disarm the Soldier by holding the Soldier’s arm back but the Soldier dropped the knife and caught it with his metal arm and proceeded to try to stab Steve again. The 2 mermen danced around like this for a while. The Soldier's knife skills were superb.

Steve decided to take the offensive and punched the eye protection part of the mask off. The nose and mouth were still covered, but when Steve looked into the blue eyes of the Winter Soldier for the first time, Steve felt as if he knew the merman.

“Who are you?” Steve asked. The Winter Soldier stopped for a moment. His brows furrowed as he locked eyes with Steve but didn’t answer. “You used to be somebody,” Steve persisted. “I heard you were a prince.” _‘Say something!’_ Steve thought. If he could get the Winter Soldier to say something, maybe Steve could recognize him. “What happened to you?”

The Winter Soldier said nothing. Instead, he swam at Steve and grabbed him by the neck with his right arm and slammed him against the prison block’s curved rock wall. The Soldier raised his knife with his metal arm.

Steve didn’t think. He let his instinct take over. He took the Soldier’s arm and flipped counterclockwise so that he twisted the Soldier’s nonmetal arm in a painful position and swung around using the Soldier’s arm for momentum and, with the knee part of his tail, kneed the Winter Soldier in the back.

 

Hard.

 

The Winter Soldier let out a cry of pain and dropped the knife. It missed the ledge they were fighting over and floated down into the depths of the ocean. Steve looked the Winter Soldier in the eye and saw frustration. The Soldier charged at him again pushing Steve into the rock wall, again and again, punching Steve in the stomach. The last push against the rock wall put the pressure on Steve’s back too much and the wound opened up again earning a short but sharp cry of pain from Steve.

Steve pushed back against the Winter Soldier and grabbed him by his uniform and turned him around and pushed the Soldier against the rock wall. But the Winter Soldier pushed back and again, Steve was up against the wall. A chain slipped out from under the Winter Soldier’s uniform. It looked like the army tag Steve wore. Both froze.

“Where did you get those?” Steve breathed. The Winter Soldier breathed in sharply through the mask. His blue eyes widened in shock. He tried to pull away before Steve had a chance to read the name but the tags were tangled. So, instead, the Soldier ripped away -- tag still tangled in Steve’s. Steve took the second set of tags. The name is written clearly.

 

**_Barnes, James Buchanan_ **

 

Both of them locked eyes. Steve tried to find the right words to say, but all he could focus on was the Soldier’s eyes. They gave no sign of recognition.

“Soldier?” A new but all too familiar voice said from behind the Soldier. Steve hid the tags in his fist and didn’t dare to move. It was Obadiah.

_‘If I show him my back,’_ Steve thought, _‘he will know who I am.’_

“Ya gotov otvechat.” The Soldiers reply was muffled due to the mask that covered his mouth, but rough. Steve didn’t recognize the voice. The language was different. _‘That’s… It’s not Bucky… It can’t be,’_ Steve decided. _‘Bucky was a human. Besides the shield, there is nothing that can turn a human to a merman... Right? Could that be... his murderer? Did he keep the tags as a trophy?’_

“Just as loyal as when we first got you 2 years ago. Very good,” Obadiah smiled, _'2 years ago?'_  Steve thought. 'That _just adds to the list of reasons the Soldier killed Bucky.'_ Obadiah then turned to Steve. “You. Merman.” He said as he made eye contact with Steve. “What is your name?” Steve stayed silent.

_‘I don’t remember if I said anything to him under my mask…’_ Steve thought to himself. _‘Mother did say silence is golden.’_

“The quiet type are you?” Obadiah chuckled. “You two should be best friends.” He gestured to the Winter Soldier. Steve gripped Bucky’s tags tighter. “Alright then..." Obadiah's eyes were drawn to the tags around his neck. "You know, that chain that you have around your neck, you got it from the Soldier, didn't you?" Steve nodded to hide the fact that they were actually his. "I don't understand why the Soldier keeps it. It belonged to a human he was ordered to kill years ago."

 

There it was; confirmation.

 

"Anyways, past aside, will you come with us to Hydra?” Steve swam backward. His back fin hit the rock wall he was pushed against earlier. He looked up to see the top edge of the rock wall curved out enough that if Steve swam up to escape, he would hurt his back so much, it may never heal correctly. He had to be careful.

“Is that a no?” Obadiah asked. Obadiah frowned and swam forward toward Steve. Steve’s back fin folded in as Steve backed up even further. His back was now pressed against the wall. Steve had nowhere to go. He was trapped. “Huh. You have guts to turn us down like this. I like you.” Obadiah winked before addressing the Winter Soldier, “Soldier,” he said as he turned around. The Winter Soldier turned to leave and both he and Obadiah swam away and out of sight, probably faster than Clint would be able to say, ‘well that was fishy.’

Shocked, Steve swam forward a little. _‘The Winter Soldier murdered Bucky.’_ Steve thought in grief. He floated down unable to tread water any more. It was as if everything but his mind shut down as he thought the only thing he could:

_‘The Winter Soldier murdered Bucky.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seem to recall some of you asking about Bucky. There you have it.
> 
> Also, "'The quiet type are you?' Obadiah chuckled. 'You two should be best friends.' He gestured to the Winter Soldier." Oh, I love the irony there. 
> 
> What do you guys think of the notion Steve has?


	12. Struggle

Tony watched with worry. Frustrated that he was compromised. Frustrated that he couldn’t swim to Steve and protect him.

He watched as Steve tackled the Winter Soldier and freed the masked mermaid, the Black Widow. Watched as Steve and the Winter Soldier danced around with the knife. Black Widow swam off. _‘Getting help hopefully’_ Tony thought when he saw her leave. When Steve delivered a blow to the Soldier’s back, Hawkeye gave a quiet but excited “Go Steve!”.

When he heard Steve’s sharp cry of pain, Hawkeye held him back. He saw the water around Steve’s back turn red. _‘Blood,’_ he thought with dread and worry. Then Steve and the Winter Soldier both froze. _‘Why did they stop?’_ Then he saw Obadiah. His heart pounded so hard when he saw Steve swim to the point where his back was against the wall. Then he saw the Winter Soldier and Obadiah swim away as fast as they could.

When Tony saw Steve float down to the ground, he took the chance to swim to Steve faster than Hawkeye could stop him. The Black Widow came back with reinforcements.

“STEVE!” Tony yelled when he reached Steve he floated down next to him. “Steve?” Tony said softly. “Are you ok?” Steve didn’t respond. He didn’t even look up.

Tony looked at Steve’s blue eyes. They were empty. The smile Steve gave him so many times since Tony’s met him wasn’t there. He had no emotion on his face. Yet a feeling of dread and hopelessness radiated from him.

“Steve. We need to get you to the infirmary. Your wound’s open. You’re bleeding.” Steve didn’t react at all. “What did they do to you?” Tony muttered more to himself than to Steve as he shook Steve a little by the shoulders. Still no response. “What did they do to you?”

“What happened?” Black Widow asked tensely as she swam up to the pair. “Where is the Winter Soldier?”

Three mermen followed the Black Widow. The first was a green-skinned merman with a ‘hulk’ of muscles. His tail was purple with a green gamma symbol on his lap. He was almost 3 times bigger than Steve.

The second merman had a dark metallic gray tail with 6 lighter pads that made the tail look like armor. He had an enlarged bright red back fin that made it look like a cape. He held a hammer and had a silver winged helmet. Thor’s face was seen clearly under the helmet.

The 3rd merman had a dark green, black and gold lined tail. He, too, had a helmet that was gold with long horns and made no attempt to hide Loki’s face either. He had an actual cape made of dark green seaweed and he held a golden scepter.

Noticing the faces of Thor and Loki, Steve gave a small frown that added to the confusion on his face. Another contribution to the mix of feelings that radiated from Steve.

“Thor, help Hawkeye with crowd control then get out fast and head to HQ. There are guards there. Hulk, go to HQ with Black Widow for Lullaby,” Tony said. “The Winter Soldier did something to him and he’s bleeding. Anyone who gets there first, get Pepper to prep for treatment.” And with that, everyone rushed off to complete their tasks.

“What should I do?” Loki asked.

“You know that new spell that you talked about learning before Steve came around?”

“Yes?”

“Use it. We need to be at the castle gates without other people seeing us.”

“I’ll need time,” Loki said, then he turned around and raised his spear. It began to glow a warm green. Tony turned back to Steve, who was creating a cloud of red behind him with his open wound.

“Steve,” Tony spoke softly. “Steve you have to help me.”

 _‘What did they do to you?’_ Tony thought again. Tony was worrying like the world was ending and he only met Steve a week ago. Why did he feel this way? Tony mentally shook his head. He needed to focus. Loki’s spear grew brighter.

“Steve? Look at me. Please...” Tony was now begging. Steve turned his head and looked Tony in the eyes. He said nothing. His eyes showed devastation and grief. Tony knew he wouldn’t say anything. He tried that already. So instead, Tony pulled him in for a hug.

Steve was a little surprised at the contact but hugged back -- fist still closed with a metal chain similar to his own in it. Loki’s green glowing spear grew into a blinding white light. Steve buried his face in the crook of Tony’s neck to block out the light. Tony shut his eyes.

“It worked!” They heard Loki say excitedly. Then Loki began to pant, “My,... that… took a lot... out of me.” They came apart and looked around. They were at the gate of the castle.

“What happened?” Steve asked in a hoarse voice. He looked tired and was starting to turn pale. The cloud of blood was reforming behind Steve.

“Teleportation,” Tony explained shortly, “Nice job Loki,” he said quickly. “Steve. Your ring. You are the only one that has the key ring to the castle.” Steve didn’t question. He gave Tony the gear ring and Tony took it and pushed it into the keyhole and turned it.

Steve opened his mouth to ask why Tony, the prince of the pod, didn’t have a ring or why Loki didn’t just teleport them to the infirmary, but no words came out. Loki seemed to understand his confusion.

“Prince Tony sneaks out of the castle and isn’t provided with a ring for his return. I wasn’t provided with the ring key because I’m a foreigner like yourself and on top of it I… don’t have the cleanest of pasts...” Steve gave a weak understanding smile. He looked, if possible, even more pale. Loki looked down a flash of urgency was seen on his face and his spear flashed a green glow.

“Also, the castle has heat sensors with the ability to ID merpeople so anyone who left through the gates. Those same merpeople must come back through the same gates. Otherwise, they are considered an intruder,” Tony added as the gates opened.

“STOP!”

“GET HIM!”

“HA! HE’S ALONE!”

They looked down to the city to see guards swimming at them.

“We were doing this to avoid looking like intruders?” Steve slurred from dizziness.  

“They’re after Loki,” Tony said annoyed. Not because Loki got them caught, but because this happened so often when he was IronTail. He still had to talk to Steve about the group too. _‘That’ll be fun...’_

“I’ve cast an illusion. They can’t see you. They won't get in your way. I’ll find a safe place to make the change back,” Loki said quickly to Tony. “Just get him to the infirmary.” Then he swam right through the guards and down to the city.

“GET BACK HERE, VIGILANTE!” All of the guards followed Loki. Tony turned to Steve. The cloud of blood was now starting to envelop Steve’s shoulders and waist. He looked tired and dazed. Pale was now an understatement. They had to hurry. They began to make their way through the gate and into the tunnels that led to the castle above.

“Steve. If we don’t hurry, you’re going to bleed out,” Tony said worriedly looking down at Steve, as they swam through a steep upward tunnel. Steve looked at him dazed. He looked as if he was about to pass out. Tony had to do something.

Tony swam around so he was swimming on top of Steve’s back and slipped both arms underneath Steve’s armpits and locked his hands around Steve’s chest. Tony slowly brought Steve closer to his chest to carefully fold Steve’s back-fin and began to swim as fast as he could to the castle entrance. If Tony could at least make it there, he could get some help.

 

 

 

Tony struggled for who knows how long, trying to get Steve through the tunnels and to the castle entrance. Steve helped as much as he could but eventually passed out due to the amount of blood he lost. The pressure Tony was creating on Steve’s back was slowing the blood loss. Tony didn’t fail to notice how close their tails came to wrapping around each other — which, for merpeople, was a very romantic gesture.

Against all odds, Tony finally managed to make it. He lay Steve down on his stomach on the floor of the castle. Tony couldn’t think straight. He became dizzy and floated down to sit next to Steve for a small breather otherwise he was going to pass out.

He was now housing major sharp pains in his chest. He looked down at himself while breathing heavily. Tony couldn’t see the glow of the arc reactor under the small amounts of blood on his chest. (Merperson blood stuck to any solid object it makes contact within the water.)

‘Strange...’ He thought.

His eyesight was growing darker.

Steve’s blood was all down Tony’s abdomen and tail. Steve’s wound was creating another cloud of blood. Tony looked up when he heard a piercing shriek.

“YOUR HIGHNESS?!” It was Captain Danvers.

“Get…! Help!!!” Tony barely croaked out. The pain in his chest became sharper with every word. His body went limp and he slowly fell forward. The last thing he saw was Steve’s face before he blacked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello. Sorry for keeping you all waiting. I took an unexpected trip and was unable to post for a while. 
> 
> HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!
> 
> (Omg it's 2019 already. But just cuz I'm an idiot, like every beginning of the year, I'll be writing the previous year in the date on all my schoolwork papers. Lol XD)


	13. The Kings' Argument

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! 
> 
> The last chapter was kind of short... Ok! Ok! It was REALLY short. I hope this chapter kind of makes up for it. 
> 
> ALSO, I changed the summary. Thoughts?
> 
> Enjoy ;)

Steve woke with a scream. He had the nightmare about Bucky being grabbed by the tentacles again. One thing new showed up. After he yelled "Hail Hydra" and the red symbol showed up in the sky, he looked to his hands and saw the flesh was crimson red. _Then_ he saw Bucky get grabbed by the tentacles. Strange...

Then the memories flooded back in. The attack. The fight. Obadiah. The Winter Soldier. The group. Thor’s and Loki’s tails. Tony. Bucky’s tags.

Bucky’s tags.

Bucky’s tags.

“Bucky’s tags…” Steve murmured. “Where are his tags!” Steve panicked. He looked around frantically searching only to realize that they were in his hand; as if they never left. Steve calmed down and began to think a little more with his head than with his feelings. Realizing that he was on a clam bed that was closed. He felt a little claustrophobic. He looked to his right and saw a remote control. It had “Open” and “Close” buttons on it. Steve pushed the “Open” button and opened the clam bed top.

He was In the infirmary. Steve made an attempt to get up. His back felt sore. Steve took notice of the fresh bandage that wrapped around his lower back once again. He still had his tags. The “Call Button” Fury gave him was still clipped to its chain. He still had his shield miniaturized into a ring on his right ring finger. He sat up. There was no one there. He looked around.

All the clam beds were open and neatly made except one. There was a bed that was closed. It was right across from Steve’s.

Wires, that were connected to weird looking machines surrounding the bed, were connected to something - or someone - in that clam bed. There was a timer on one of the bigger machines. 25:23:30 and counting down.

 _‘Best to leave it alone,’_ Steve thought. He felt tired so, he propped himself up on a pillow. Steve laid back for a moment -- thinking, sorting out his thoughts and feelings.

As he isolated his thoughts from his tiredness, Steve felt a wave of emotion.

Steve felt anger within himself. He was _very_ angry. Angry at the Winter Soldier. Of all his time in his grief, Steve never had anyone to blame. Now he did. He wanted to… He wanted... What did he want? Steve didn’t know. Then he realized, he wasn’t angry at the Winter Soldier. Why? His own thoughts didn’t even make sense to him. Why was he housing this newfound anger? Where was it coming from?

 

Steve didn’t know.

 

Then he’s not angry. He is grieving. It was like he lost Bucky all over again. But he couldn’t bring himself to cry. Steve thought that he probably shed all the tears for Bucky he could when he first lost him. Finally, he found the strength within himself to get up.

He looked back at the remote control. “Is there a nurse help button on here or something?” He wondered aloud. Steve couldn't find one. He looked around his bed. Nothing. He didn’t want to wander out of the Infirmary in fear of running into unwanted attention. The call button Fury gave him should only be for emergencies.

He looked around the room for the time. 6:37 A.M. Why was there no night shift nurses around? Or day shift nurses for that matter? Steve decided to check outside of the infirmary doors. Might as well just ask for help from a passing guard. Besides, who would be awake at this time? He shouldn’t attract too much attention.

Steve put Bucky’s tags around his neck and peaked his head out of the infirmary door. Empty. Why? Where is everyone? He ventured out of the infirmary and down the hall. Curiosity killed the... cat? Fish? Catfish?

Steve wandered down the deserted hall. Then down another. The library. The lab. A few more corridors. He found no one. Not guards, nurses, servants. No one. As Steve was passing the study that Fury brought him to earlier, he froze.

 

“King Howard. This is not for you to decide! Not anymore. I demand-!”

“You are in no position to demand anything, King Odin.”

“And you are in no position to tell me that I am in no position to demand. Not after that whole fiasco you had. With Obadiah Stane, the new foreigner that you accepted into the pod, after the breach in your barrier, after-“

“I understand your point, Odin.” Howard snapped. Steve swam closer to the door. “But believe it or not I do not trust you with them.” Steve frowned. Who was king Odin? What did King Howard not trust King Odin with?

“I don’t trust you with them either. Especially since Loki went missing.”

_‘Wait, what?’_

“You caught Deceit, one of 6 vigilantes, yet you lost my son,” Odin snarled.

“Whom you cared for enough to banish?” Howard countered calmly. Steve’s eyes widened. _‘This King, Odin, banished his son?’_

“Don’t tell me you haven’t threatened to banish your own son.”

“If I ever did, it was and always will be an empty threat.” Silence engulfed the two kings. Steve held his breath.

“I still want my sons back,” Odin growled.

“How about this; My son and your sons will be given your request. If there is no problem among the 3 of them, Thor and Loki may return to you and your pod and become the princes of the Asgardian pod once again.” Steve frowned.

“This is a useless condition when there is only 1 of the 3 available to give consent of my request! Loki is missing, and your son has been unconscious in the infirmary for the past 2 days alongside the foreigner.”

 

Steve was so taken aback by this statement that he straightened his back in a swift and sharp movement. His back, still being sore, did not agree with this and gave Steve a sudden sharp stabbing pain to which Steve responded to with a yelp.

 

“Who’s there?!” Odin snarled.

“Show yourselves!” Howard demanded. Steve slowly opened the door.

“I-I’m sorry,” he stuttered and pulled at his and Bucky’s tags. “I just woke up. I was looking for-“

“It seems fitting that the first of the two to wake is the foreigner,” Odin sneered. Steve automatically felt unbelievably guilty. It showed on his face. Howards face remained calm. Why?

“Prince Tony is in the infirmary?” Steve asked quietly. “What happened?”

“How are you so calm Howard?!” Odin lashed out. “He is the reason your son is barely breathing!”

“I- What?!” Steve was taken aback. Even so, King Howard was calm.

“Odin,” Howard spoke in a soft voice. “Relax. Yes, my son is barely breathing because of this merman’s blood.” Howard gestured to Steve. “But it was my son’s choice. He saved this merman. This merman saved him a week before. The merman is not at fault for my son's actions.”

“You are too merciful,” Odin spat out. “I shall stay here until our sons give their consents. I’ll see you at the trial.” With that, Odin left. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence.

“We haven’t met,” King Howard gave a warm smile.

“You’ve seen me before...” Steve said quietly, still pulling at the tags around his neck.

“Have I?” King Howard raised a brow. “I don’t remember,” He said thoughtfully.

“When I first came here. I was unconscious. But the nurses gave me a remedy that jump-started my heart. It had a side effect and I got to see a glimpse of the past. You and your son argued about my banishment.”

“Your banishment?! Why don’t I remember? And why, above all, did I want to banish you?” The King looked genuinely concerned.

“You don’t remember any of it? Has this happened before?” Steve was now concerned for the King.

“To tell you the truth, I’ve been having blackouts for quite some time. After them, my son wouldn’t talk to me, my wife would be exasperated, and there would be random new orders like tracking down that group of vigilantes. I think it may have been Obadiah but he has been gone from the castle for over a week, yet I’m still having them.” King Howard looked miserable. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I’m sorry...” Steve said for lack of a better response.

“You have nothing to apologize for, merman. Anyways, what is your name?”

“Steve Rogers, sir.”

“I heard you saved my son. I will forever be grateful.”

“My pleasure,” Steve smiled. “I should thank you for your hospitality, your highness.”

“Out of curiosity, where is _your_ pod?”

“I don’t have one,” Steve said. King Howard’s raised his eyebrows.

“It’s my turn to apologize.”

“It’s fine,” Steve said. There was a red dot on King Howard’s neck.

“I- LOOK OUT!” Steve yelled and swam at King Howard pushing him out of the way of the incoming object. It landed with a small thud on the bookshelf on the opposing wall. “Sorry your highness, stay up against the wall… Please.” Steve looked up. High up there was a small window. “There’s a window in this room,” Steve muttered to himself, stating the obvious. He noticed a merman with a black uniform and a metal arm swimming away. The Winter Soldier, _‘Bucky’s murderer’._  Anger flared within him again. “He’s back then he’s gone. So he’s a hit-and-run?”

“What’s going on?” Howard asked in a hushed voice. Steve’s anger turned to unease.

“I can’t exactly explain. But I do need to know why the castle is deserted.” Steve said as he picked the object off the bookshelf. It was a dart. It contained red liquid in it.

“The castle? Deserted? My boy,” Howard chuckled, “Odin is just very dramatic when he sees a servant. He normally doesn’t have to see them in his palace. This part of the castle was ‘evacuated’ so that we would all be spared from Odin’s tantrums,” Howard grinned. “The servants should be back at about 7:30 this morning.”

“What time is it now, your highness?” Steve asked checking the window for the Winter Soldier again.

“7:15 in the morning,” Howard replied.

“Would you to come with me to the lab, your highness? This dart could be the reason for your blackouts.”

“Will you explain what going on on the way?”

“Of course, your highness.” Steve and King Howard traveled down the halls as Steve explained about the Winter Soldier attacking and Obadiah’s escape. When Steve finished, King Howard shook his head in disbelief.

“I can’t believe I didn’t know about this,” Howard said, remorse apparent in his eyes.

“Obadiah is a part of Hydra. He’s been manipulating you all from the start,” Steve said as they turned the corner. Steve nearly swam into the wall. “Right. No backfin. I gotta remember that.”

“Here,” King Howard pointed. They entered the lab.

“We need Bruce Banner,” Steve said quickly

“Bruce? My son’s friend? Why?” King Howard turned to see Steve leaned against the door frame for support. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. My back’s sore,” Steve brushed off. “Why Bruce? He has an interest in this kind of stuff. Also, because of Obadiah’s case, I can’t trust other staff with this,” Steve said. “Sorry.”

“Precautions must be taken,” Howard smiled understandingly.

“Do you know where Bruce would be, your highness?”

“If not here, asleep,” King Howard said. “It is a little early.”

“We have to get him. As far as I have seen, Hydra moves fast. I’d much prefer if you came with me just in case if you don’t mind, your highness,” Steve said.

“Don’t see the problem with it,” King Howard shrugged. “Are you sure you don’t have a pod? You must have been trained in some way.”

“I’m very sure, sir,” Steve assured. Halfway down to the dorms were Bruce and the others slept, Steve gave a small hiss of pain as he leaned on a wall for support. King Howard barely heard it.

“You shouldn’t have to do this,” King Howard said frowning.

“I like this pod,” Steve stated plainly. “If this is what I have to do to help, then I’ll do it. Besides,” Steve’s voice softened, “it’s the closest thing to home than what I’ve had for a long time.” Howard gave him a small smile. Steve’s face hardened with guilt. “Also, if it’s true that Prince Tony is barely breathing because of me, I don’t deserve any less.” Howard’s face turned solemn.

 

 _‘This merman,’_ King Howard thought. _‘He is very honorable. I have to find a way to repay him.’_ They made their way to the dorms.

 

“JARVIS?” Steve said as they made it to the dorm corridor. King Howard frowned.

“Who-?”

“Good morning Mr. Rogers, how may I assist you?” The AI interrupted.

“Jarvis?” King Howard said confused. “Tony’s old butler? But he died.”

“Hello your highness,” Jarvis responded in its usual robotic voice.

“JARVIS is an AI created by your son, your highness. JARVIS, is Bruce in his room?”

“Yes, Mr. Rogers. However, he is not awake, sir.”

“Which room?”

“The door to your right.”

“Thanks, JARVIS.”

“You are very welcome, Mr. Rogers.”

“Your Highness?”

“Lead the way,” King Howard said still getting over the name of the AI. Steve opened the door to Bruce’s room. The room’s main theme was a calm dark green. It was also decorated with green seaweed plants. The desk was covered in work papers. Steve swerved as he swam to Bruce, who was sleeping calmly on his stomach, facing the entrance of the room, in the clam bed that had the same colored dark green sheets.

He placed the dart on the nightstand.

“Bruce,” Steve whispered as he gently shook him. “Bruce. Wake up. Bruce.”

“Mmn?” Bruce groaned.

“Bruce, we need your help.”

“No, Clint. I don’t want to prank Thor and Loki while they’re training,” Bruce mumbled and turned over onto his back, his head facing the window of his room, away from Steve.

“No not Clint. It’s me, Steve.” Bruce’s eye shot open as his neck snapped towards Steve to face him.

“Steve! Oh gosh! You’re awake! What about Tony?” Bruce asked as he sat up.

“Not yet. But…” Steve turned to King Howard.

“Your Highness!” Bruce nearly squeaked he frantically got out of bed and bowed.

“There’s no need for that. Good to see you too Bruce,” King Howard smiled warmly. Bruce frowned.

“What? Steve, how did you- do have a magic touch or something? Or like an aura?”

“Bruce. I think King Howard’s been drugged into becoming an evil king.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Because of this,” Steve took the dart off the nightstand and handed it to Bruce. “The Winter Soldier tried to get him with it.”

“I’ll get right on it.”

“Oh goodness,” King Howard said glancing at the clock. 7:45. “I have to be in the throne room. Merpeople are expecting me.”

“Your Highness, I would be comforted if You would be escorted to your destination with protectors,” Bruce proposed.

“After what happened in that study room, I would like you to escort me, Mr. Rogers,” King Howard said.

“I’d be honored,” Steve said giving a small bow. Then turned to Bruce. “Extra precaution, keep the dart out of sight, period. No exceptions. And keep away from windows. Everywhere.”

“Got it, Steve,” Bruce said as he rapped the dart in seaweed. “Be careful. Both of you.” He gave a quick bow to King Howard then swam off to the lab to analyze the liquid in the dart.

“Let’s get going?” Steve asked.

“Let’s,” King Howard nodded. They made their way to the throne room. Guards, led by none other than Captain Carol Danvers, joined them around 3 quarters of the way there. She gave Steve a distrusting look. They confronted the doors of the throne room.

 

The Throne room was set up not like Steve expected. It looked more like a courtroom. Odin was there along with other elites from both the Stark and Asgard pods. Their seats made a semicircle around an empty cage that was front and center. In the middle of the semicircle, there were 2 larger thrones. Queen Maria sat in one of them. Steve spotted Pepper sitting in the Royal Physician's seat, a seat away from the empty larger throne. Horns trumpeted an entrance tune as King Howard, Captain Danvers, the guards, and Steve entered the room.

“Stay if you wish,” King Howard told Steve. “But only speak when spoken to,” he warned. Steve nodded. He watched King Howard swim to his throne and take a seat next to his wife, the Queen.

“And _only_ when you’re spoken to,” Carol said unwelcomingly. “I want you to know, Foreigner, you may have won the trust and love of the Royal Family — not to mention everyone you meet — but _not_ from _me_.”

Steve could not stay quiet anymore. He was done putting up with this mermaid silently.

“I hope that one day I will understand your hate towards me, Captain Danvers,” Steve said sternly yet confidently, showing the side of him that he has yet to show any sea creature —  not to mention everyone on the surface and himself. Carol smirked to cover up her surprise from the tone of voice she was spoken to.

 

No one ever spoke to her like that.

 

She was _The_ Captain of The Royal Guards. She was always shown the utmost respect from everyone. Even the Royal Family. Prince Tony was... getting there. Carol did not reply to Steve. She instead turned her back, swam towards the King’s throne, and took her seat right in between Pepper and King Howard. She smirked at Steve as she sat down gracefully as if to taunt him.

“Hey!” A familiar voice called causing Steve to turn his head, the developing anger relinquished. It was the lieutenant from earlier.

“Hello,” Steve gave him a tired smile. They shook hands. He noticed that the lieutenant had a bandage around his lower tail. “What happened to you?”

“When my friend tried to pull me from under the rubble before you came to help, I lost a few scales,” he replied.

“Ouch,” Steve said out of sympathy.

“‘Ouch?’ What about you? My tiny scratches landed as a 2 on the medical scale. Compare that to your injury which, in case you haven't noticed, nearly killed you. They said you landed as a 27 on the scale!”

“Er… how much is the scale out of again?”

“100.”

“Oh, that’s not that bad,” Steve shrugged. “The first time I was dragged in there, they rated me at 42.”

“What?! Stop the tough-guy act. That’s really bad for a merperson,” the lieutenant said more playfully than anything. “I never had a rating higher than 9. I think you set a new record in the Stark pod medical wing: Lost the most amount of blood and survived,” he and Steve chuckled humorlessly. “The name’s Dum Dum Dugan, by the way.”

“Steve Rogers. Good to finally meet you officially, Lieutenant Dugan.” They shook hands.

“Please. Just call me Dum Dum, Mr. Rogers.”

“Then call me Steve. So what’s all this about?” Steve said changing the topic.

“This will be a sentencing trial in a week. We caught one of the vigilantes,” Dum Dum said gleefully. “But today, and probably for the rest of the week, this is a Court of Argument. King Odin of the Asgardian pod wants his sons back.”

“So I’ve heard,” Steve nodded. At the knocking of a mallet, the room grew quiet.

“Welcome all to the Stark Pod Court of Justice. We have gathered here today to discuss the events of the prison break out, here in Stark pod, 2 days ago and King Odin’s request…” Steve stopped paying attention and reverted his mind to Tony. Was he the one in that bed with the wires and machines? What did Steve do to him? When will he wake up? However long Steve was spaced out, he entirely missed the change of tone in the court from professional to pure rage.

The 2 kings were now in an argument. Both Queens trying to calm their husbands-! Well... Queen Frigga of Asgard was. King Howard was on the verge of bursting out in frustration.

 

“I WANT MY SONS BACK STARK!” Odin snarled.

“You may not have them until all of our children have had a say in this, Odin!” Howard repeated in annoyance. At that, the front doors of the throne room flew open.

“Father?” Thor stood in the doorway. “What is the meaning of this?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BOOM. Can I just pride myself on that ending? I really liked it. (Sorry XD. That was a little narcissistic and arrogant.)
> 
> ANYWAY:
> 
> What do you think about King Howard and his situation?  
> I've noticed that a lot of fanfiction makes Howard Stark an antagonist to Tony. I kinda broke the rules on that... Thoughts?
> 
> PS: I know my chapter lengths are kinda inconsistent. Sorry. It won't get any better. I'll try to keep the chapters longer. ;)


	14. The Brothers' Story

“I want you to come back to Asgard, my son,” Odin said quicker than Howard could say anything. He swam up to Thor. “Both you and Loki. I want you back as the Princes of Asgard that you were.” Thor raised an eyebrow. 

“And what, dear Father, does King Howard think of this spontaneous request?” Thor looked up at Howard, who was able to calm down a little.

“I thought you, Loki, and Tony should all have a say in it before anything was done. But your Father thinks it unwise to wait in light of what has happened a few days ago in the prison.”

“Why would you want both of us back, Father? Why the sudden change of heart for Loki? Do you not remember why Loki left in the first place? Why I left?”

“We should continue this in private,” Howard said cautiously, taking a glance around the courtroom of elites of the Stark and Asgardian Pods -- who were whispering to one other.

“No. I want to hear this now,” Odin hissed.

“I will not give my answer, Father. Not without Loki. Not without Prince Tony. King Howard is right on that matter.” Thor swam away, not allowing anyone else to speak.

Steve swam after him. He knew it may not be his place. But Thor was his friend. Steve had to be there for him. Captain Danvers made an attempt to get up to stop Steve but was stopped by King Howard. She sat down. Steve nearly knocked into the door on his way out. He cursed under his breath at the bandage that kept his fin folded in. “Thor, wait!” he called. Thor did not stop. “Thor!” Steve followed Thor’s silver tail to the sparring arena that he and Loki would train in, then lost sight of him. “Thor?” Steve tried a third time as he scanned the arena.

“Friend Steve, I am happy for your recovery.” Steve turned to see Thor sitting in the stands. He looked conflicted.

“I wish Tony recovered before me,” Steve said out of guilt. “I still don’t know what happened to him. Your father said it was my blood; my fault.”

“The glow in his chested stopped working,” Thor explained. “They say it is because of the rarity of the exposure of merman blood, Friend Tony did not put a shield for it. So when his chest was exposed to your blood...” Thor trailed off. “In truth, I was afraid for both of you...” he said uncharacteristically quiet. “I have not seen injuries quite like those, even in battle.” Thor’s tone then changed. “But if you woke, Friend Tony will as well!” Thor put on a smile. A moment of silence rolled over the two.

“I didn’t know you were a prince,” Steve said thoughtfully trying to break the silence.

“Speaking of pasts, I find it curious that after sharing your full past with us you asked us nothing of our pasts in return,” Thor thought out loud.

“It was my choice to tell you my past as well as Tony’s when he told me a part of his. None of you said anything afterward, so I thought it wasn’t my business.”

“Well, it would only be fair on my part. Loki and I discussed it earlier in case you should ever ask so he’s alright with it. It would explain what happened back there with my father. I think you should know.” Thor reasoned more with himself than Steve. “Well,” Thor cleared his throat. “It all started with Loki finding out he was adopted-“

“Loki’s adopted?” Steve blurted out, eyebrows raised. “Sorry…”

“Believe me, Loki’s and my reactions were more extreme than yours. Aye, Loki was adopted. Before becoming a prince of Asgard, Loki was born in a Mer-frost Giant pod called Jotunheim. He was born to the king of the pod, Laufey. Now, you should take note, Asgard and Jotunheim had their differences.

“When it came to war, King Laufey was ruthless and neglected his son whom he considered a runt. He left Loki to die as a baby. When the war was won, Odin found Loki near Laufey's spear — which had untold powers and is not the one Loki wields in battle as Deceit — and took Loki to raise as his son and locked Laufey’s spear away."

"Where is Laufey's spear now?" Steve asked out of curiosity. 

“Always close to Loki in any shape or form -- perhaps a ring one day and an amulet the next. Maybe Loki will show it to you someday. Anyways as time flew by, Loki and I were raised together. We played together. We trained and fought together. But there was a small detail that Odin overlooked. Loki was still a mer-frost giant. When a mer-frost giant turns 18, they undergo… unpleasant transformations. Loki was no different.

“To save Loki from the painful process that neither of us understood, I helped Loki obtain a potion from Hydra that would turn him into a normal merman. We were too naive at the time to know what Hydra was. The potion worked like this: the first to drink is the creature that the user wishes to turn in to, then the user drinks the other half. When Loki consumed the potion, he turned into a merman alright, but there is always a price to pay with magic like that. I was ignorant of such a bargain and Loki paid the price. He was shot with a dart that caused him to become a controlled minion of Hydra. He stole the spear of Laufey and attacked the Stark pod under Hydra’s command with Hydra’s army. 

“My father gave me the order to lead an army against Loki. So when it came to killing my brother, I hadn’t the heart to. That’s when Prince Tony charged out with his battalion of defense. I fought against Prince Tony to protect my brother. Loki became confused by my actions and was able to fight off the mind control. 

“When Loki freed himself of Hydra’s grasp, he called for a retreat. He dared not to return the army. Instead, he led the army to its demise.”

“Wow. Loki is a true hero,” Steve commented in awe and perhaps a small bit of admiration.

“He is,” Thor agreed and smiled. “He also tried to get rid of the spear of Laufey but no matter how hard he tried it would always return to him. Though the potion wore off, there were still permanent side effects. It affected me too since I consumed the potion and the potion is magic. We gained the power of the change, as you saw us earlier. I obtained the power of underwater thunder, and Loki obtained the power of illusion. We named ourselves Thunderer and Deceit. We kept our powers to ourselves therefore, no one knew but us. Loki shield's our faces with illusion so no one would see our faces.

“However, my father was ashamed of Loki after everything. He banished Loki from Asgard, but I thought this wasn’t fair. It was my fault Loki was in this mess. When Odin proclaimed Loki’s banishment, I stood against it openly. I knew Odin would never go back on his word, so I told him to banish me as well. Out of rage, Odin did so and Loki and I wondered from Asgard together. In our time out in the open ocean, Hydra tried to kill Loki on multiple occasions for revenge of their army Loki destroyed. Shortly after, we accidentally swam into Prince Tony and his battalion as they were traveling to Asgard to discuss the war’s events.

“Recognising Loki, he had his battalion attack us. Loki and I fought to defend one another once again. Prince Tony then recognized me and stopped his battalion. I explained to him that Loki was controlled by Hydra and regrets his mindless actions. Prince Tony took heed to my words and took us back as prisoners.

“He and his father, King Howard — with the help of Friend Bruce — tested Loki and the results showed the truth. We were released. King Howard, Queen Maria, and Prince Tony asked us to return to our home. We explained who we were and why we couldn’t, that we had no place to go, and Hydra was after us because of what Loki did to the army with which he attacked with. So King Howard took pity on us and allowed us to stay. The Stark pod forgave Loki for his attack, and Prince Tony became one of the best of friends we ever had…” Thor stopped speaking for a moment. “Well, that’s our story. I thank you for sitting through it. It’s good to get something like that off the chest.”

“My pleasure,” Steve smiled. “Wait,” Steve lowered his voice. “So Loki is in the prison block as Deceit? Is there a way to get him out?”

“Loki, the team, and I discussed this,” Thor said in a hushed voice. “He will break out and leave an illusion of Deceit in the cell and return as Loki before Deceit supposedly ‘breaks out’.”

“It will lower suspicion about identity,” Steve nods. He pauses for a moment before asking, “So do you want to return to Asgard?”

“Though in Asgard, Loki and I were royal, I can see now that we would never truly be happy there. We are both in debt to the Stark family. I would much rather serve and protect the Stark pod than sit on my bottom in Asgard. Besides, I do not truly believe Odin would ever treat Loki the same.”

“I’m happy you know what you want,” Steve smiled. 

“Steve!” Thor and Steve whipped around to see Bruce calling for him. “Steve, I have results.” 

“About what?” Thor asked.

“King Howard's weird aggravated behavior over the past few months,” Bruce explained quickly. “You were right Steve.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you think of the Asgardian Princes' story?
> 
> I'm planning on having the others share a bit about themselves.
> 
> PS: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT! Whether it's in views, kudos, or comments, it's inspiring me to continue!


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